That was the message from Cheetahs and Springbok winger Jongi Nokwe to the captains of the provincial teams playing in the Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week in Queenstown on Wednesday.
Nokwe was the guest at the traditional “Captain’s Hour” at which the teams captains at the Coca-Cola youth weeks meet with a prominent player to discuss rugby and captainship issues.
Nokwe described how he himself never played rugby at any junior level – he was an athlete and only got involved in the game at club level – yet he eventually made it into the national team.
“Many of my provincial team mates never played for the SA Schools team and neither did all of the Springboks,” he said.
It’s all about dedication and discipline, he told the captains. “If you want to achieve your goals you need to put everything into training and do all the right things,” he said.
But, he warned, you should not be tempted to take short cuts by using performance enhancing drugs. “Be especially careful of nutritional substances. They will claim to be legal, but you may be found positive and banned from the game for something in them that you didn’t know about,” he said.
“So, ask your trainers for advice before you take anything.”
Of the 40 years of its existence, Coca-Cola has been part of the week for the past 26, a statistic the company is proud of. “Coca-Cola sponsors tournaments at the highest level and we are fully aware that no country can be successful without a strong development programme in place and Coca-Cola has played a major role in finding Springboks. More than 90 percent of the current squad have competed in one of the Coca-Cola Youth Weeks,” said Zayd Abrahams, Head of Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola South Africa.
Abrahams said further: “But the four weeks we are involved with, namely the Coca-Cola U13, Academy, Under 16 and Under 18 weeks are also about living for a difference and living a healthy lifestyle. These are the messages we also promote throughout each tournament.”
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