Cape Town – Every athlete desires to compete in the World Cup. It is the greatest struggle to bring pride and happiness to one’s country, and in the case of South Africa, it is much greater given the everyday challenges and tribulations everyone experiences.
Zane Davids, however, had his hopes dashed two weeks ago when he suffered an ankle injury in the penultimate competition of the season in Los Angeles – just ten days prior to the commencement of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in his hometown.
This would be a severe blow for the majority. A reason to spend days moping and wallowing in your own misery.
However, such was not the case when I met Davids this week; despite limping around in a “moon boot,” the 25-year-old was still sporting a smile as wide as Table Mountain.
“Injuries are part of the game, bru,” Davids added. “It’s out of your control.”
The only explanation for David’s maturity in the face of something so potentially terrible is that he is already living his dream.
The bullocking forward, famed for his strong work-rate and dogged tackling, has traveled a difficult path to become not just a Blitzbok, but also an Olympian, a Commonwealth gold champion, and the only South African to be nominated to the HSBC Sevens Dream Team last week.
For this reason, he values all he has encountered in his professional rugby career, good and bad alike.
Davids stated, “I have no idea where I would be if I weren’t playing rugby.”
Davids began his career as a junior at Primrose Rugby Club, where he carried would-be tacklers to the try line on his back. Such outstanding exploits under the tutelage of his Primrose RFC instructors rapidly drew the notice of the local Ivy League rugby schools in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.
“I will always remember my Primrose days. It was a site where I made numerous new friends with whom I remain in contact to this day. Also, we had excellent coaches; “Uncle Kashfy” was a major influence on my career, and we continue to correspond often. Davids stated, “We will always require a mentor in our lives.”
His father, Mogamat Davids, an ardent supporter of community club rugby, did not consent to Davids attending Rondebosch Boys High School on scholarship until Grade 10.
Due to the weekly traditional schoolboy derbies he was now playing for ‘Bosch, Davids’ career simply skyrocketed to a new level. Davids’ talents on the rugby field, whether as prop, loose-forward, or centre, made him a cult schoolboy hero and led to his ascent to the Western Province Craven Week sides, then the South Africa Under-20 side, before he graduated to the Blitzboks.
“Coming from South Peninsula High School, it was first difficult to adjust, and when I arrived there I was playing in all of these different places, but it was such a wild adventure for me,” said Davids.
“After Craven Week, it was Province Under-21 and then the Baby Boks in 2017, when they saw my work ethic. From there, I was asked to try out for the Sevens, and I’ve been with the Blitzboks for seven years.
“At the time, I was fairly overweight, and I was concerned about my ability to maintain the required level of fitness. However, Chris Dry came up to me and told me to simply keep up for three months, and men like Cecil (Afrika) and Branco (du Preez) kept me going.”
The Blitzboks will miss Davids’ energy this weekend as they take on the rest of the world at DHL Stadium and look to give coach Neil Powell the perfect send-off before he becomes the director of rugby for the Sharks.
However, despite the way that he will not be on the field with his “family” this weekend in the Blitzboks’ quest, he is entirely behind the green-and-gold to win the championship.
“Neil has always given his all, and he is so committed to the system that he gets up at 3 a.m. to work on plans. He never slacks off, and he deserves everything that comes his way because he is so committed to us,” he added.
“I am rooting for the boys to win the championship. If the men perform at the level we know they are capable of, then no one can stop them. But I also know you can’t overlook anyone, as we’ve seen in the last few weeks with all the upsets. I’ll be in the stands cheering them on to victory.”