Sintu Manjezi. Photo by Johan Rynners via Getty Images
Sintu Manjezi’s rugby dreams and the dad who helped him chase them
Talented Bulls forward Sintu Manjezi has described the family ‘support’ he received along the way to achieving success at the highest level.
Sintu Manjezi. Photo by Johan Rynners via Getty Images
It was on a rugby field in Ireland during the Bulls’ 2021 tour in the United Rugby Championship that Sintu Manjezi was put through a tough training session with the team’s strength and conditioning coaches.
WATCH: RASSIE RETURNS TO TWITTER WITH PRAISE FOR WALES!
And as the coaches motivated him, and his fellow players cheered him on, it reminded him of the one lesson his father’s example has always taught him.
“Support is everything,” says Manjezi.
He knows its value, because he’s lived it under the patient and loving eye of his father Xolile who has been there for every step of his career from growing up in East London, not making the top teams at school, but never letting his passion for rugby diminish as he worked his way into the Bulls family.
This year, Morné Steyn, Bryan Habana, Lizo Gqoboka and Schalk Brits will participate in the Father and Son Campout at Loftus, while all the time sharing the importance of fathers being there to support their sons’ dreams.
For Sintu, the real magic between a father and son happens in those moments when dad is just there. He doesn’t have to say anything. He just needs to be there.
“Having that kind of support puts a lot of things at ease. As athletes you put a lot of pressure on yourself and there are lots of things that can affect your mentality. So knowing people who remind you who you are helps you to keep believing in yourself. My dad has always been that person for me,” he says.
“My dad is a very loving and caring dad. He’s made a lot of sacrifices to give me the opportunities he didn’t have so I can chase my dreams. But he’s also been wise enough to let me express myself in those opportunities. He doesn’t try and control me. He motivates me and pushes me hard, but he leaves the control with me.
“I’ve always found that if I need anything from him or any advice from him, he’s always been that pillar of strength for me. If I come to him, he never judges me. He’s always on my side.
Sintu Manjezi said he would not be where he is without the necessary off-field backing
The talented forward said the support of close family, and particularly his father, has been the foundation of the success he’s had in his own career.
“He’s always told me to just believe in myself. At school I never really made the A teams initially, but I just loved sport. He always just kept telling me to follow my passion and believe in myself. That takes so much pressure off you.”
