The 2nd year Public Administration student was one of the new players who were unveiled by the Tafel Lager Griquas for the upcoming Currie Cup season that is set to kick off in January. Nathan’s rugby journey started way before he even started playing rugby. In 2007, on the day of the World Cup Rugby Final, his family lost their home because they could not afford to pay rent.
As the destitute family were moving their stuff to friends, the young Nathan, listened to a radio commentary. “I was just listing to them speak about this rugby thing which I had no idea what it was and one of the presenters mentioned Byran Habana and the whole topic just became about him,” says Nathan.
“Hearing everything that was said about him, I whispered that I want to be like Bryan Habana, that name has stuck with me since and being as young as I was, I didn’t know the impact that he had on me, the seed it indirectly planted within me. Now I look back, I realise that was indirectly the start of my journey.”
Nathan, who was born at Kikwiti in the Democratic Republic of the Congo moved to Johannesburg at a very young age with his family. He vows that he is ready to embark on his new journey with the Griquas, five months after the exposure he got from playing for CPUT in the Varsity Shield.
“My biggest aim here is to play and win the Carling Currie Cup.”
Reflecting on his struggles growing up, Nathan says he and his sisters were raised by his single mother. “We had to rely on the generosity of strangers to survive, month to month, often going to bed hungry or with little to eat when help was not available. I never had a stable home environment growing up as we bounced between house to house, often depending on the generosity of complete strangers and, if it wasn't for these people who provided food and shelter, the coaches who invested in me, friends and their families assisting, I would certainly not be the player or young man I am today.”
Nathan encourages prospective players to stop and look at the bigger picture, the reason as to why they are here, the reason as to why they started. “Have faith in where they are and where they are going because that's how you find the momentum to keep moving forward when things get hard. Whatever they do, they shouldn’t stop believing in their mission because everything will work out exactly as it's supposed to and sometimes even better than they can imagine.”
His inspiration is her mother, Laurentine Mbele because she’s been unemployed her whole life but managed to raise him and his two sisters, “people won’t understand how much it takes for a foreign national to come into a country and lose everything but raise three kids, what she’s been through and how much sacrifice that takes”.
At the recent CPUT’s Rugby Awards ceremony, Nathan was announced as the Overall Player of the year. “It felt unreal because to date that has been the biggest rugby award I’ve received, I felt privileged and honoured to have worn the CPUT rugby jersey and that I’d be leaving it in a much better place than what I received it as. No one starts this journey out successfully; we all have to go through the process to get there! And in that process is a lot of ups and downs, obstacles, and failures that other people may not see but it's the one's that keep pushing forward that truly reach success.”
