Africa-Press – Namibia. HARD work and a sense of determination were the watchwords for Walvis Bay-born former Kudus and Namibian national rugby team star Chrysander Botha.
Botha says while he wasn’t always the most talented player, he was definitely the most hard-working.
The former Narraville Primary School pupil was also an avid athlete, and even played soccer at junior national team level, forming part of the under-17 team that toured Westphalia in Germany, and representing Namibia at under-20 level under captain Knowledge Iipinge.
“I was a very useful left-winger, and I played for Namibia at junior level. I also played for the under-20 team that went to engage Burundi to a one-all draw away in Bujumbura,” Botha says.
“I played alongside former Brave Warriors’ Lazarus Kaimbi, Gottlieb Nakuta and Iipinge. My presence in soccer was not only limited to the junior national teams, I also played a few games for Eleven Arrows in the Namibia Premier League.”
Botha studied at Stellenbosch University, where he played rugby for the under-17 and under-19 teams, also known as the Maties.
He moved to the University of Johannesburg in 2011, where he starred for the university team before being snatched up by the Golden Lions, and played in the prestigious Absa Currie Cup Premier Division between 2013 and 2014.
“I must say it was a privilege to play professional rugby in the highly competitive Currie Cup. It is every young rugby player’s dream to play in the Currie Cup.
‘Just imagine playing against the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks week in and week out,” he says.
“I must have been doing something right, because top English side Exeter Chiefs came knocking and signed me up in 2016 until 2018.
“They were three great years in England playing paid rugby for Exeter at Candy Park. I lived my dad’s dream of playing pro rugby.”
The retired fullback also received a few personal accolades, like winning the Sportsman of the Year award at Walvis Bay Private High School during his matric year in 2006, and the Junior Sportsman of the Year award during the Erongo Regional Sport Awards in the same year.
He describes playing for the Maties as a personal achievement, as well as his nomination for the Junior Sportsman of the Year award in the annual Namibian Sport Awards.
Botha says he was never as excited as when he was selected to the senior national rugby team after first representing the under-20 side.
‘MASSIVE HONOUR’
“I was overly thrilled, and it was a massive honour to represent my country at the highest level,” he says.
“My greatest moment as a rugby player was when I first represented Namibia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and the cherry on the top came after I was called up for the World Cup team in 2015 in England, where I played for Exeter at the time.”
He says he was proud after he played two World Cup group matches at Candy Park, Exeter’s homeground, where he played for his club every weekend.
The former fullback star, who also played on the wing for Kudus, mentions the Welwitschia’s Vodacom Cup encounter against the Vodacom Bulls at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek in 2010 as his most memorable game ever.
Botha says there were just about two minutes left on the clock, when his teammate Godwin Walters took a quick throw-in to him, which resulted in him running almost the length of the field to score a try right under the Bulls’ post.
His biggest regrets stem from the time after he resumed his playing career after he broke his upper leg and dislocated his ankle during an end-of-the-year tour to Canada with the national team in 2014.
He says he was never the same player again.
He played his last top-flight match for Exeter and hung up his rugby boots for good after playing only three games for Western Suburbs in Windhoek.
WORK, FAMILY
Botha married his longtime sweetheart Beauretta Britz in 2016.
The couple has three children.
Botha is currently employed at King Price Insurance.
“I am the investigations manager of claims. It can be quite a challenge working with people from different backgrounds and cultures,” he says.
Botha is currently coaching the senior national side.
“It was quite an exciting experience to be coaching the junior national team at a youth tournament of significance on foreign soil.
“The boys made a real account of themselves, and we were unfortunate to go down 15-17 to the host nation in the finals,” Botha says.
“I am currently coaching the attacks and backline of the senior test team. I am just too happy that after my playing days, I am still involved with the Namibia rugby team. A lot of ex-players can only dream about this.”
Botha still cherishes the moments during the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where young and old play rugby in the streets, unlike in Namibia where the streets are for soccer.
He says his father, who once didn’t select him for the Erongo under-13 regional team because he wanted him to work harder, is the person who had the biggest influence on his rugby career, because he was also his biggest critic.
The rugby legend urges young, aspirant rugby players never to give up on their dreams.
“Setbacks are temporary, and if you really want to become a professional player, you will achieve it if you work hard,” he says.
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