KURT-LEE ON THE CHARGE Kurt-Lee Arendse’s path to rugby stardom wasn’t the smooth road that most of his peers in the current World Cup-winning Springboks squad enjoyed. Picture: Wikus de Wet/AFP
Image: Wikus de Wet/AFP
You would think that working in a butchery after school would put Kurt-Lee Arendse in the mix to lead from the front when the Springboks have a braai.
“I was basically worked with the pork bangers, making sure the fridge was always full. I leave the braai to Kwagga [Smith] and Pieter-Steph [du Toit]!” Arendse jokes.
But that job was always just going to be a side-hustle en route to realising his dream of becoming a professional rugby player who would be good enough to one day play for South Africa on the biggest stage.
Arendse’s path to rugby stardom wasn’t the smooth road that most of his peers in the current World Cup-winning Springboks squad enjoyed. His journey doesn’t include Model C or private schooling, with infrastructure geared towards shaping raw talent into fierce competitors.
Arendse grew up in the impoverished Lantana neighbourhood in Paarl and attended the Paulus Joubert Secondary School.
Unlike Paarl Gimnasium or Paul Roos in Stellenbosch, Paulus Joubert doesn’t have the state-of-the-art facilities and perfectly manicured lawns that are enjoyed by the well-known Model C schools on the other side of the Berg River, which have produced many, many Springboks.
Like many talented kids who grow up without a silver spoon, Arendse needed that little bit of luck and someone who believed in him to give him that opportunity to take the gap and showcase his undoubted talent.
“I stayed positive while I was working at the butchery,” Arendse said.
“I kept going to the gym after knocking off, to prepare myself to be ready when the opportunity came.
“In the back of my mind I always knew that one day there will be an opportunity.”
The late Chester Williams, the first black man to play for post-Apartheid Springboks and who won the World Cup with South Africa in 1995, was the one who gave Arendse that rugby lifeline.
Williams grew up not too far from Arendse’s parental home in Paarl, his journey following a similar path from his Klein Nederburg Senior Secondary school, a couple of kilometres from Paulus Joubert.
Williams was blown away by Arendse’s ability while playing for the Boland Academy side during one of SA Rugby’s youth weeks.
He immediately offered Arendse the opportunity to leave his job packing pork bangers at the butchery to play for the University of the Western Cape in the Varsity Shield.
It wasn’t long before Arendse was spotted by the Springboks Sevens side after a few top performances for UWC. From there, Jake White signed him for the Bulls in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic after the Sevens team couldn’t travel to compete abroad.
It was for the Bulls in the domestic matches where Arendse really caught the eye, and, two years later in 2022, he would make his debut for the Springboks against Wales in Bloemfontein, following in the foot steps of his mentor, Williams.
UWC’s director of sport Mandla Gagayi remembers Arendse’s first steps at the university and how Williams, who sadly passed away shortly before the 2019 Rugby World Cup, took the starlet under his wing.
“Chester kept on telling me about one of his biggest recruits they landed and urging me to go to training to meet the student,” Gagayi said.
“When I got to training, Kurt-Lee was watching from the sidelines because he didn’t have boots. Chester bought him a new pair for the next training session, and boy his showing convinced me already that he was a star.”
Williams had a similar personality, the most polite person you could ever wish to meet, but fierce in his beliefs and principles.
Arendse embodies that same fierce, but humble spirit, as has been witnessed over the last two years in the Springboks jersey, with Arendse running in 18 tries in 24 Test matches for the Springboks.
Both men also went on to win the World Cup for the Springboks with the No 11 jersey on their backs. It’s more than just a coincidence, it’s fate.
“Chester had a big influence in my sporting career. He was the one who gave me the opportunity, when no one else did,” said Arendse.
“That carried me through Varsity Rugby. It’s quite sad that Chester was not able to witness me playing for the Springboks.
“Sometimes, I think back when things didn’t go well in the game, he would say just pass the ball to Kurt-Lee. It gave me a lot of confidence.”
So what advice can Arendse give other kids who face a similar journey?
The schoolboy player who didn’t feature at the Craven Week. The kid who’s dream is on hold because he needs to work a casual job to make feed himself and his family.
“Paulus Joubert is a big rugby school, especially when it comes to derbies. But not big enough that other players will get bursaries to other schools,” said Arendse.
“There wasn’t a lot of facilities like gyms where I went to school. But if you focus on that too much, it will be hard to make it,” said Arendse.
“You have to use anything and everything to your advantage for your dreams, then nothing can stand in your way.”
On September 6, it was exactly five years since Chester Williams passed away. But his legacy lives on with every try Arendse scores in a Springboks jersey.
@JohnGoliath82