Blitzboks’ ace in the pack
DURBAN: The breeding ground of Sevens super-stars that is the Blitzbok camp will have a new inductee when they take on Scotland, Japan, and Canada in the penultimate Paris leg of the Sevens World Series tomorrow – wannabe tennis star Dewald Human.
He trained for hours each day, trying to do that slide he saw Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer do so many times on TV when playing the French Open at Roland Garros, followed up by a wicked top-spin forehand and that precisely-placed backhand.
Way too skinny and small to play rugby like everyone else at school, Human, pictured, was determined to become the next big thing in tennis.
The shot became better, but the slide was not that easy. South Africa is just not claycourt country.
Instead the 14-year-old Outeniqua High School pupil, nicknamed Japie, developed his own way to slide and to compensate for the lack of clay.
This intuitive knowledge of how to use his feet came to good use when his friends called him over to come and play touch rugby with them during breaks at this famous rugby school in the Southern Cape.
Ball skills would never be an issue and when he also proved pretty elusive with rugby ball in hand, under-16 coach Pieter Cloete, who happened to walk past his agegroup team playing touch, had little hesitation inviting Human to come and try out at rugby.
Problem was that Human, at the time, was the smallest, skinniest kid on the field (he still is) and that was pointed out by his tennis coach, Danny Sullivan, who told him in no uncertain terms that he was crazy to try and play rugby, with his frame.
Human was never one to shy away from a challenge, though, and he not only attended trials, but then was catapulted into the game quicker than Nadal would get his shirt dirty at Roland Garros.
The path to schoolboy rugby glory was as swift.
Human made the provincial under-16 side to compete in the Grant Khomo Week and then made the SWD Craven Week side for two years in a row, despite the fact that he was 1.65m and only weighed 65kg.
In his final year at school he also made the SA Schools team and was contracted by the Blue Bulls.
His aptitude for finding space, and elusive running, also captured the attention of Marius Schoeman, SA Rugby Sevens Academy manager. He drafted Human into the Commonwealth Youth Games under-18 team that won gold in Rugby Sevens in Australia.
The team was coached by one Neil Powell, fresh into his new trade after retiring as a player.
Human also represented Tukkies in the highly competitive Varsity Cup, playing at fullback and flyhalf, and then represented the Blue Bulls at under-19 and under-21 level. He was drafted into the Southern Kings Super Rugby squad in 2016 and scored the winning try on debut, coming on as a replacement at fullback, against the Jaguares, a team laden with players who took Argentina to a semi-final of the Rugby World Cup the year before.
He made his first start for the Kings (at flyhalf) against the Stormers at Newlands, so having to perform on the big stage is not something Human is unfamiliar with.
His true inspiration for performing on Saturday and Sunday though will come from driving past Roland Garros this week, for so long his field of dreams.
“We drive past the stadium from our hotel to the training ground and I can only smile thinking back at my dreams to play at the highest level here in Paris. I never thought, at that time, that my dreams would actually become a reality as a rugby player,” Human said. “I always wanted to play for the whole of South Africa here in Paris and now I actually will, but in a totally different sport.
“In the end, is does not really matter. I still had to work really hard to get here and for that I feel pretty humble and proud. The one thing about the Blitzboks is the values. Things like respect, brotherhood and always putting the team first are just so easy to fall in line with.” The Blitzbok fixtures for tomorrow are:
(SA times) 11.28am vs Scotland 14.54pm vs Japan 18.42pm vs Canada