He’s tall, he’s rangy, he’s the perfect lock.
At 2,01 metres tall, Cameron 'Slab' Lindsay (26) has thrived for the iCollege Pumas, becoming an integral part of their SuperSport Rugby Challenge journey.
Product of Michaelhouse in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, Cameron has played 16 games for the Pumas – his first was against the DHL Western Province on August 5 2017 at Newlands.
The 26-year-old was born in Pretoria which after the Lindsays relocated to Underberg – an administrative town in a dairy and cattle farming community in the Mzimkulu River valley where his father worked as a doctor.
Eight years later, they moved to Pietermaritzburg in which Cameron went to Cordwalles Primary and matriculated at Michaelhouse.
He captained the first team rugby as well as his school’s water polo team. In his Gr 11 year, he played alongside Sharks flyhalf, Patrick Lambie.
Cameron’s nickname, ‘Slab’ was given to him by his primary coach, Mark Whitelaw.
“He told me that I look like a big piece of slab so the nickname stuck. Everyone knows me as ‘slab’.
He has two sisters – the one Katherine (24) works as a CA for Investec in Johannesburg and the Andrea (28) is a teacher in Hilton, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
In 2009 Cameron represented KZN at the annual U/18 Coca Cola Cravenweek which in that year was hosted by Border College in East London.
After matric, he joined Western Province where he played in the u/19 and u/21 competition and played for Maties for two years.
At the start of 2013, he signed a six month contract with Wellington Football Club in New Zealand. His lock partner was Vaea Fifita who currently plays for the Hurricanes and he was coached by legendary All Black, Murray Mexted.
Returning to South Africa in the mid of 2013, he went on trail at the Kings where he met now head coach of the Pumas, Brent Janse van Rensburg. Running-out onto the field, for NMMU Varsity Cup squad in 2014, he was offered a contract at the Kings for three years whereafter the union went bankrupted.
The only serious injury he has suffered, was an ACL in which he was out of action for 17 months. He went back to train at the Kings and it was then when Janse van Rensburg phoned him and offered him a contract at the Pumas.
“It has been a memorable journey. I must say a year that I will always remember, was the year at NMMU. We had a great team and it was just a fun and enjoyable year.”
