Opening International Doors

Opening International Doors

– Tiaan Stander

WPRA 2015 Season

In my final two years at Framesby High School, I played first XV and then went on to play in Craven Week 2014 for Eastern Province. It was a tremendous honour, because that year we won the tournament for the first time in a long time. In that time, I didn’t have any rugby contract or bursary prospects. I then applied at Western Province Rugby Academy, and they gave me an amazing opportunity to join the Academy.

I arrived at the Academy, nervous but excited, as I had no idea what to expect. I simply wanted to make the most of the opportunity that had been presented to me. We began our training with hiking and team building for two weeks. Without utilizing a rugby ball, each workout was loaded with modest life lessons to offer the athletes a reality check. We were coached and drilled in the gym and on the field which gave us a taste of the professional rugby player lifestyle. I really enjoyed being in that environment. Most of the players had the same drive and goals, and this made the experience effortless and meaningful. I was surrounded by amazing talent, hard workers and great coaching staff. During the season, we had a lot to take in and we had to seriously apply ourselves. We had our academy life with training and working, as well as playing a certain amount of rugby games. We also had to choose a club in Cape Town to play for; I played for Hamiltons RFC U/20, a club with great history. I loved the traditional values they instilled in us, they also taught us how to handle ourselves on and off of the pitch.

After living this lifestyle, I really wanted to see where this experience could take me and what my future could be like. I spoke to Anton Moolman, Head Coach of WPRA. I asked him if he knew of any opportunities overseas for rugby, not knowing that the question will change my entire life for the next few years. After some time had passed, as luck would have it, we ended up drawn to play against a France U/18 team. The coach of the French team spoke to our coaches about our team and its talent, and I was hopeful because I had played a great game. The next week I got a call from Anton saying “Right, here you go, the opportunity you asked for.” The coach of the French team, who spoke to our coaches, was a coach in the Federal 3, Pontarlier, France. I remember Anton saying “Do you want to go?” and I thought to myself how did everything happen so quickly? Within 2 months I was on my way overseas for the first time in my life.

PONTARLIER 2015/2016

I arrived in a breathtakingly beautiful small town in France as a 19-year-old kid, afraid and homesick at first, but eager to learn and experience new things. I was really fit and prepared, and it gave me an advantage in the team that I was playing for. I was at my peak with my kicking and general play, and I was filled with confidence. In France, rugby is a massive ladder system and I ended up catching the eye of some recruits. I ended up testing for the French top 14 academy in Loyn, France. I then got an offer from Brive to play in the French Top 14 Academy “Espoir” U/23 for one year. I impulsively took the offer before I was ready, and it ended up being a hard life lesson waiting for me.

BRIVE

I was quite excited when I arrived in Brive, but it did not turn out to be what I had imagined. My room was a small dorm with nothing inside, no bed, no fridge, just an empty room with a one plate gas stove. I borrowed a blow up mattress, bedding and food from one of the other international players until I could afford my own bed and food. He was Fijian and extremely kind-hearted. I was in a bad mental head space when the rugby started, and I felt extremely home sick. I couldn’t understand how I could be in a Top 14 Club and be treated worse than I was in Pontarlier, a club 4 levels down. It was a hard pill to swallow after working so hard. My love and drive for the game started fading after that incident. However, I pushed through this experience, and I gave my all when training started. I played for 7 games in the season when it started going downhill. We had a backline skills session and I spoke out of my place towards one of the coaches and he felt I was disrespectful. That of course wasn’t my intention; my intention was to come up with innovative ideas for the team because we were all in this together. Because of the feelings of disrespect from the coach, I never got to play for that team again. This took a major toll on me mentally, because I always try to give my all and to think that my actions was the reason for my journey at Brive being over was heart-breaking. It was a hard pill to swallow after working so hard. My love and drive for the game started fading after that incident.

ROAD BACK TO SA

I started working a normal 9-5 job and catching up with everyone after almost 3 years of playing rugby overseas. It was extremely hard for me to accept this was my life now, after I had experience so much overseas. I then ventured on to play club rugby in Port Elizabeth for Parks Rugby Club. It was just for fun, my love for the game wasn’t completely gone and would never be. The first friendly match of the season I ended up tearing my ACL in my left knee. One of the most painful experiences of my life! At that time in 2018, I didn’t want to get an operation because I didn’t see the use in it, but after some well needed prayers and positive reinforcement from family and friends I decided to get the operation done. This was in no way to further my rugby career but just to play sports and general and gym without my ACL being in the way. In February 2020, I got my ACL operation done. In that time Covid-19 spread tremendously in South Africa and we were put under a nationwide lockdown. I was still able to do rehab though and I attended rehab classes regularly. I spoke to physiotherapist, and I was surprised to hear he said I would be able to play rugby again if the recovery process proceeded as positively as it did currently. I thought to myself, maybe Covid-19 had given me a free year to recover to do rehab and train to get back into the game and my love for rugby. I reached out to my friend Pontarlier, who I stayed in contact with. He was extremely happy to hear from me again and offered me a great opportunity to play rugby and work simultaneously. I had a major decision to make: would I stay in South Africa with my loved ones, or would I chase my dreams again by playing rugby and touring France? I took myself up on the challenge and worked extremely hard to get fit again. So here I am in 2021, in Pontarlier, France doing what I love, but this time with a more mature outlook in life. I couldn’t be more grateful for my second opportunity to chase the love of the game again.