When injury on the field puts an untimely end to a rugby player’s playing days, a caring organisation is on hand to offer support and rehabilitation. Tank Lanning pays tribute to the sterling work of the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund
“When life deals you lemons…make lemonade!”
It was a favourite saying of my then Ikey Tigers coach Allan Solomons, asking us to see the glass half full instead of half empty, to look for the silver lining instead of the dark cloud.
A whole lot easier said than done, especially when those lemons come grapefruit size, or that cloud seems to be blocking the entire sky. But in general, I like to think I have taken it to heart.
Guys that take this to an altogether new level, though, are the injured players who benefit from rugby’s caring hands – the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund.
Players who’ve ended up at the bottom of the wrong ruck, been tackled awkwardly, got their positions wrong in a collapsed scrum, or otherwise encountered that one moment in a game that’s resulted in a life in a wheelchair.
As TV show host, Dan Nicholl writes, “By right, these are players who should hate rugby as a result, and never want anything to do with it again. Time and again, however, it’s the opposite: passion for rugby burns brighter than ever in players who’ve long since had to accept the fact that rugby as they know it is gone forever more”.
As a friend of the Fund, I had the pleasure of accompanying then Bok assistant coach Gary Gold on a visit to a couple of the injured players who were stationed in a post op rehabilitation centre in Cape Town. Gary had brought along a signed Bok jersey for one of the guys who was going through a particularly tough time getting to grips with his new life, and it was quite something to see how much it meant to him.
Far from blaming the game, or hating it for what it had done to him, all he wanted to do was talk to us about the game, happy even to chat about the unlucky tackle that had put him in that bed. But mostly, he just wanted to hear Gary’s stories from the Bok camp.
The visit was also a stark reminder of how lucky I was to be able to walk away from the neck fusion op I had as a result of a few scrum sets going bad.
The death of Western Province fullback Chris Burger, following a fatal neck injury sustained in a tackle during a Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein in 1980 led to the founding of the Chris Burger Fund by then WP captain, Morné du Plessis, and his teammates.
Petro Jackson, a young player from Kylemore, was also fatally injured following a neck injury during a match in 1987 and a similar fund was established in his honour. The two funds joined forces for greater impact some 20 years ago and became known as the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund.
When the game changes a life, these guys step in, offer help and hope, and ensure that injured players retain their dignity and lead fulfilled lives. Wheelchairs and nursing care are obvious needs, but the Fund take things much further, trying to help with ramps at their homes or place of work, computers that are adapted to the needs of the individual, along with outings to Bok Tests in their wheelchair friendly suite.
They are also involved in development programmes like BokSmart that look to make rugby safer, and prevent similar injuries from happening again.
The Fund does an amazing amount of good work, and obviously needs to raise money in order to do so. It was great to see BrightRock sponsoring the recent Play The Bounce banquet which saw the Boks and Wallabies participating in the Fund’s star studded annual fundraiser that was broadcast live on The Dan Nicholl Show. It took FUNdraising to a new level!
Given the plethora of socio-economic ills in South Africa, there are plenty of hard working charities looking for donations these days, sometimes overwhelmingly so given that money quite simply does not grow on trees. But by choosing one or two that resonate – for whatever reason – saying no to the others becomes a bit more justifiable.
The Fund are the epitome of making lemonade from lemons and for obvious reasons, hold a special place in my heart. Perhaps take some time out to understand exactly what Rugby’s Caring Hands do for our game.
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