Sports

DHL Stormers flank Junior Pokomela will come full circle when he makes an emotional return to Gqeberha with his team for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against the Dragons on Saturday 3 December.

“It’s going to be very special. To go back with the team I grew up wanting to play for, and the champions of the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship – it’s a special moment for me,” says Pokomela of a fixture that takes him back to the New Brighton township where he grew up and which is also the home of the iconic rugby club Springrose, to the friends and family that have been waiting for this moment, and to his own boyhood dreams in the game.

“The minute the fixture was announced my phone never stopped ringing as friends and family were asking me for tickets,” says Pokomela. “Everyone is just so excited about this game.”

The decision to not play this fixture in the traditional venue of Cape Town and rather take it to the equally passionate rugby community of the Eastern Cape is one Pokomela has applauded.

“There is massive excitement there. You know, people often speak about the Western Cape and the rugby culture there, which is incredible. But I can tell you the Eastern Cape is on the same level. I can guarantee that this game being played there means so much to the people of Gqeberha. The love they have for the game and how passionate they are about it is insane. They’re just really special rugby supporters.”

Pokomela knows first-hand just how passionate this part of South Africa’s rugby world is, and how it inspired his own dreams for the game.

“I’m from New Brighton which is where Springrose Rugy Football Club originated. The club rugby around there is massive. There is so much history with clubs like Springrose and African Bombers, and players such as Siya Kolisi, Mzwandile Stick, Solly Tyibilika and so many others that have come from here. And then you have passionate supporters like the late Easy Fana.

“Whenever I go back home and you go and watch a match between Springrose and African Bombers, it’s just crazy how many people turn up. Their love for the game and the time they give up for it is out of this world, and I’m sure they’re going to turn up in their numbers for this Vodacom United Rugby Championship match.

“It would’ve been massive for me to see something like this when I was growing up. I always dreamed of playing for the DHL Stormers. So it’s very special for me to be going back and hopefully to be able to inspire the kids there and show them that they can have the same dream.”

Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White is relishing the energy he feels his team takes with them into their Vodacom United Rugby Championship break after beating the Cell C Sharks against the backdrop of a sea of pink breast cancer awareness supporters at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.

The much-anticipated Pink Drive match certainly delivered for White and his team as they took all of the inspiration of donating to a breast cancer sufferer’s treatment on Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels a few days before the game, the support of thousands of fans dressed in pink on Sunday – including a few players from Mamelodi Sundowns – and having photos of breast cancer survivors on their jersey to beat the Cell C Sharks 40-27.

“We’re going to go on a break now, and it’s nice to come back after that and have this energy that’s in the changeroom. It’s a nice place to be in terms of the energy we have now,” said White.

“We got a five-pointer against the Cell C Sharks, which is a multi-million-rand team. There’s a lot of excitement. We’re seven games into the competition with five wins and a couple of bonus points wins as well with lots of tries. We’re third on the log. If we’re playing like this there’s no reason why we can’t get better.”

The Vodacom Bulls walked away with the biggest share of the spoils in a match played for a bigger cause. Sunday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash between these two rivals was played under the banner of “United We Care” as the Vodacom Bulls played for CANSA and the Cell C Sharks for PinkDrive and the work both these organisations do in providing mobile screening clinics for the early detection of breast cancer. Vodacom and SuperSport teamed up to donate R250 000 to CANSA and R250 000 to PinkDrive. Even the match officials in the Northern Hemisphere played their part as they all wore pink jerseys.

“I just want to thank every Vodacom Bulls supporter for creating awareness for breast cancer. I think the message was sent properly,” said Vodacom Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee.

The Vodacom Bulls will have even greater motivation in their Pink Game clash against the Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday after the players and management joined sponsor Vodacom and answered Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels call to help a woman suffering from breast cancer in a fight that’s far bigger than any rugby match.

On Jacaranda’s Good Morning Angels show on Wednesday this week, it was revealed that Annelie du Plessis had reached out on behalf of her twin sister, Adéle, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for the extremely aggressive triple negative breast cancer.

Adéle, a single working mother of three children who lives in Standerton, was diagnosed in June. Since July she has had to get up at 3am and travel from Standerton to Pretoria for treatment at a government hospital every week. She usually only returns home at 8pm. Much like so many women in South Africa, Adéle is amongst the most medically vulnerable with no medical aid to support her. Her sister reached out to Good Morning Angels to simply request petrol vouchers for Adéle to ease the financial pressure of her travel for treatment.

But as Vodacom and the Vodacom Bulls are celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, culminating in Sunday’s Pink Game at Loftus Versfeld, they decided to do far more for Adéle and donated R100 000 to support her.

“I’m really sorry, Adéle, for the situation you’re in. My heart breaks for you. You’re an incredibly strong and brave and beautiful woman. All women are aware of breast cancer, but I cannot think of that moment where you discover a lump. It must be terrifying. I don’t have petrol vouchers for you as your sister requested. But I am hoping that R50 000 will go a long way in helping the situation,” Michelle van Eyden, Vodacom’s Executive Head of Sponsorship, announced live on air.

At this point, Vodacom Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee walked into the Jacaranda FM studio.

“Adéle, your story really touched us as a team. As a group of players we want to give you R25 000 from the players’ side, and hopefully also a win this weekend. We think we’re fighting a fight on the field, but there are bigger fights out there and we’re so proud of you. We back you and are behind you,” he told her.

Coetzee was no sooner done than the studio phone rang.

“Hi Adéle. This is Jake White, coach of the Vodacom Bulls. When I heard about what our players are doing to support you, I thought from a management point of view that we’ll also add to this support and donate R25 000. It’s the least we can do for you. As Marcell said, there are bigger fights than rugby games, and hopefully we can help to get this disease out of you.”

A tearful Adéle was almost speechless from the support she received.

“I am so grateful. I have three kids aged 18, 12 and four and I am a working mom. The chemotherapy days are the hardest days. It’s still a long road ahead for me and I am so thankful for the support. There are so many people out there who are very sick with this disease. I urge people to please get tested regularly. I was diagnosed early, and the doctors have all told me that early detection really does help so much in the treatment of breast cancer,” she said.

Both the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks will play their part in supporting cancer awareness in this Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 15:00. The Vodacom Bulls, who will wear their pink jersey, will be playing for CANSA while the Cell C Sharks will play for PinkDrive as they support the vital work of these two organisations and the mobile screening clinics they have nationwide.

Both teams will also have the photos of fans who have suffered from or are fighting breast cancer on the backs of their match-day jerseys, and the entire stadium will be awash with pink.

“As a team we try to touch people off the field as well,” said Coetzee. “Myself and my teammates will wear our pink jerseys with such pride on Sunday.”

There’s no doubt that one of the biggest rivalries in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship just became even more personal.

The Northern Hemisphere match officials in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will stand united this weekend as they red-card breast cancer and show their support for their Southern Hemisphere colleagues during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The show of unity comes as South African rugby prepares for its biggest drive yet in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, highlighted by Sunday’s rivalry between the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld.

It was confirmed this week that in solidarity with this occasion, the Northern Hemisphere match officials will all wear pink ribbons on match duty this weekend.

In South Africa, Loftus Versfeld will be a sea of pink as the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks, rugby fans, match officials, host broadcaster SuperSport and all involved in Sunday’s game wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Vodacom Bulls will be playing in support of CANSA while the Cell C Sharks will play for PinkDrive and the important work both of these organisations do in promoting and providing nationwide screenings and early detection for breast cancer amongst the medically vulnerable with their mobile clinics.

The Vodacom Bulls and the Cell C Sharks will literally carry this message on their backs. Fans have been given the opportunity to show their own support by uploading a photo of someone (or themselves) who has suffered from or is fighting breast cancer to www.unitedwecare.co.za, and for it to possibly feature on the back of the limited-edition match-day jerseys of both teams.

The Vodacom Bulls are also playing all of their away matches in October in their new pink jersey in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Rugby’s new generation of stars are young, fearless, and according to Emirates Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen, more than ready for the big stage.

The recent performance of players such as 20-year-old Sacha Mngomezulu and a host of other young stars in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship comes as no surprise to Van Rooyen, who at the start of this season identified a clear shift in the talent coming through.

“This new generation is a little bit different. They have a huge expectation, which is positive. They aren’t very patient, which makes it a challenge for us, but which is also why they can perform so well when they’re 20, 21 or 22. They honestly believe they’re good enough at that age. They back themselves,” Van Rooyen said.

“Honestly, South African rugby is in an unbelievable place where they could probably pick an Under-24 or Under-25 Springbok team that could really compete with the majority of the senior teams.”

It’s exactly this new breed of player that made Van Rooyen so excited about the upcoming season, and which is showing in the performance of his Emirates Lions team.

“The ability to play a game that excites the players in your team room and could potentially excite the fans is very appealing. As coaches we wake up every day and ask, ‘How are we going to get the best out of these players? How are we going to get the mix right for them to perform?’ There is a real hunger and drive in the Emirates Lions to start doing something special. Not that it wasn’t there before, but I think in the previous season we had the realisation that we really can compete here and do something special. You have to keep on picking younger and at the Emirates Lions we back our junior system. If you add your mixture of senior players in, it becomes very exciting.”