HARD YARDS
No shortcuts
A RUGBY player’s path to the green and gold often intersects with the Craven Week and South African schools highways.
They are well-worn roads paved with success and occasional casualties, but some players miss the taxis altogether.
Yet they still find a way to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that is Bok colours.
There are players, such as Sharks and Springbok lock Stephan Lewies, who missed Craven Week and SA Schools altogether, but still did the hard yards to put himself into Bok contention in the three years he has been with the Sharks.
He joined the coastal franchise in 2011 on a junior contract after he was spotted at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in 2010.
At the start of the season, it would have been difficult to pick him as a potential Springbok. But his performances at lock were convincing enough to turn coach Heyneke Meyer’s head.
In the absence through injury of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Lewies took on the mantle of the Sharks’ lineout leader to a point where they have not missed the sidelined young enforcer.
The shy 22-year-old from Pretoria is mindful of the hard work he has put in and said it helps keep him grounded. Missing out on junior provincial selection is never easy, especially in the land of locks that is Bulls territory.
“My family always supported me in whatever I did, especially when I was jettisoned from the Blue Bulls age-group teams,” said Lewies. “They would tell me that it’s not the end of the world and I must continue to work hard, which is what I have done until now. They often said the hard work would pay off and it did, because things don’t just happen by themselves.
“It was disappointing not to make those sides, especially with the fact that I came from one of the smaller schools in Pretoria. Not a lot of Craven Week players are picked from Eldoraigne, which is normal considering [rugby breeding grounds] Affies and Waterkloof [are in the area].”
Being the first Springbok to be produced by a school situated in the suburb that straddles the R101 between Johannesburg and Pretoria has not quite sunk in yet for Lewies.
Aside from working with Victor Matfield, whom he idolises, Lewies said calls from his friends and high-school coaches made him realise how special his achievement was.
“When the news first came I did find it a bit hard to believe. But then my coaches from school and my friends called and relayed the news to me, which is when I started to realise how special it is to be a Springbok. My friends continued to send messages of support and I got a present from my school, which really touched me,” Lewies said.
Moving from Pretoria to Durban was a culture shock for the youngster but, due to his ability to take his chances and his willingness to adapt, he took on the challenge of living in Durban in the same manner in which he quietly and efficiently filled Du Toit’s huge boots, even though the language was a bit of an issue for him.
His rise started during the Sharks’ successful Currie Cup campaign last year, with excellent performances that did not go unnoticed.
Sharks director of rugby Jake White is not surprised by Lewies’s rapid improvement in a short space of time. Where one coach would have been fretting over Du Toit’s loss, White said Lewies embraced the challenge of being the lineout leader.
“He has surpassed everyone’s expectations,” said White. “He was a reserve lock to Anton Bresler and Du Toit, but he was always going to be the guy who was going to call the lineouts once he came on. I am overjoyed with the fact that he has grabbed his opportunities.
“Lewies has proved that if you get a guy in the system and back him and the players around him, he will succeed.
“You don’t have to be a star at school to succeed at the highest level. Who would have thought that Lewies and [Cheetahs lock Lood] de Jager would be Springboks this year? The system has proved that if you work hard enough you will still get a chance.”