Kurt-Lee Arendse’s battle to get a senior provincial contract should not have happened, and must not happen to future junior stars from difficult circumstances – who may live in an impoverished area and not attend the ‘right’ school but who are clearly good enough for the big time.
Ashfak Mohamed
Episode 3 of the Chasing The Sun 2 – which looks back at the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup triumph – will be remembered for the big reality check that Rassie Erasmus gave some of his star players.
Last Sunday’s episode on M-Net and SuperSportfocused on the Bok boss laying down the law to the players after the 13-8 defeat to Ireland in the pool stages.
The F-bombs flowed as Erasmus showed his players where they had gone wrong against, and then he mentioned only a handful of players who should get ready for the quarter-finals. That didn’t include captain Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, who both expressed their shock as they realised they needed to prove themselves against Tonga.
There was also the brewing friction between Kolisi, Etzebeth and Duane Vermeulen about the direction of the team and their leadership styles, and Erasmus told the trio to sort things out in a room for 15 minutes and present a united front afterwards.
Cheslin Kolbe’s memorable charge-down of Thomas Ramos’ conversion featured as well, with the Springbok flyer explaining how he studied his former Toulouse teammate’s kicking routine to the second to make the charge-down possible.
The fact that Cheslin Kolbe actually pulled this off? The attention to detail? The planning? Just brilliant! #ChasingTheSun2 pic.twitter.com/LdhzjvJ477
— Motshidisi E. Mohono (@MotshidisiM) April 9, 2024
But for me, the most remarkable part of episode 3 was the back story of Kurt-Lee Arendse’s rise to prominence. The speedster from Paarl in the Western Cape, though, nearly missed out on top-flight rugby.
While we all know his incredible journey from playing Varsity Shield rugby for the University of the Western Cape to Springbok star, the hardships he endured to get there were showcased in Chasing The Sun 2.
Having played provincial junior rugby for Boland and Western Province, Arendse – who attended Paulus Joubert Secondary School in Paarl – said on episode 3 that he had been told he would be contracted to the Boland Cavaliers senior team.
“When I didn’t make it, I was devastated. So I decided, let me go work. I started working at the butchery.”
The next shot is of Brito’s Meat Centre in Paarl, where Arendse worked.
When Kurt-Lee Arendse went back to the butchery where he worked 🥩💚 #ChasingTheSun2 pic.twitter.com/Fzed59kQbf
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) April 9, 2024
“I still wanted to play rugby, and my grandmother was the person who believed in me, even though sometimes I didn’t believe in myself.
She came to me and said, ‘Listen my child, soon someone will see you,’” he said.
“Every day after work I would go to the gym, put in the work just to prepare myself.
“Rugby has changed my life completely,” he said.
He joined Chester Williams’ UWC team in 2017, when they won the Varsity Shield – and he was the player of the tournament. More Varsity Shield in 2018 and Varsity Cup in 2019, before he was recruited by Neil Powell for the Blitzboks squad for the World Rugby Sevens Series. He was part of the SA Tokyo Olympics group in 2021.
But when Covid-19 struck and cancelled the sevens circuit in 2020, Jake White had seen enough to sign Arendse, who excelled in that Currie Cup and has been a mainstay of the Pretoria side ever since.
Add in 13 tries in 15 Bok Tests, and Arendse has become a true superstar.
Now, how many other Kurt-Lee Arendses are out there who may not have had the support, drive or commitment that he displayed to become a world-class wing?
But his struggles should not be in vain. His battle to get a senior provincial contract should not have happened, and must not happen to future junior stars from difficult circumstances – who may live in an impoverished area and not attend the ‘right’ school but who are clearly good enough for the big time.
Arendse will turn 28 five days before the Boks’ first Test of 2024 against Wales at Twickenham on June 22, yet he only has 15 caps for the national team.
Imagine where he could have been and what his record would have been like if he had been given an opportunity earlier in his career?
