Sambo laces his rugby boots for the first time – at 33
If you have never heard of Nic Sambo before, you are not alone.
Virtually unknown this time last year, the 33-year-old burst onto the rugby scene only at the start of the 2017 rugby season.
Sambo had no knowledge of the game as he played basketball all his life. He was only introduced to rugby in 2015.
He grew up in KaNyamazane where he represented the province and his hometown in basketball countless times. In 2003 Sambo moved to White River, and he graduated from Valencia Combined School in Mbombela.
In 2004 he relocated to Pretoria, where he joined Clapham High School, Queenswood, Pretoria as head coach of basketball.
Four years later, he joined the BMW Eastview Mbombela team as a sales executive – his first-ever career that had nothing to do with basketball.
“Back then everybody was either working as a waiter or as a cleaner at a movie cinema. As a young boy, I dreamed of living in a big house and driving a top-of-the-range car. Hard work gets you there. In the game of basketball it doesn’t end until one wins. Life started and reality kicked in.”
In 2015 the two-metre tall lock went on a business trip to London. Funnily enough, at the time the Rugby World Cup had just kicked off.
“The company asked me if I would be interested to see South Africa in action? I was like? Yes. Sure. Why not? My wife and I attended two matches – the Bokke faced New Zealand and Argentina played Australia. At first I could not understand why the ball needed to be passed to the back in which the players can only then move forward. I was hooked. There was no better rush than seeing the guys play.”
At first, Sambo said he did not want to get hurt and that he was scared like a little girl.
“I frequently drive past Nelspruit Rugby Club (NRC), and always see the guys training. I pitched up one afternoon in my sneakers just to see what it would be like. Everything was new to me, but I instantly loved it.”
After his first-ever match, he was named man of the match.
“Joh! You need to sit down for this one. We played Sasol in our very first game of the season. I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t know everything about the game, but I will be better next year. You can take that to the bank.”
