Rugby might be a South African pastime, but to Salt Rock’s Angus Eaton (11), it virtually means everything.

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Angus had long been a casual sport fan, but in 2019 his entire outlook changed.

While watching the Rugby World Cup final in a fan park at the Litchi Orchard, he became transfixed by the game between South Africa and England.

“You can actually chart his rugby fandom from that point. He was playing and running around with the other kids and then just became glued to the screen when the rugby started,” said father Andrew.

Since then, Angus has become rugby-mad, using the extra time spent at home during the Covid-19 pandemic to devour old game highlights on YouTube.

He has caught up with literally hundreds of hours of game time, going as far back as the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

This level of devotion has given Angus an encyclopedic memory of game moments and scores, which he is able to recall at a moment’s notice.

“He has watched so much rugby in such a short time that he will sometimes become confused with the score. Often when that happens, you will find the exact same score in another game between those same two teams,” said Andrew.

Angus does not just trawl through the archives however, he will watch any live rugby he can find.

He has favourite teams in almost all the professional leagues worldwide, including less watched games in the Japan Rugby League and Major League Rugby in the USA.

Such is his obsession that if left to his own devices, Angus would probably spend all day in front of the television, said mother Paula.

“Obviously we are glad he has found his passion, but we also have to moderate it so it does not become all-consuming.

“We have developed a red and yellow card system which we use throughout the week based on good behaviour. This dictates the number of games we allow him to watch,” she said.

Behavioural challenges of different levels often occur in children diagnosed with ASD, and Angus is no different.

“We have an older daughter who is what they call ‘classically autistic’, meaning she showed the typical symptoms for an autism diagnosis. In Angus’ case, the diagnosis took much longer, until he presented with symptoms of OCD and Tourette’s,” said Paula.

So began a long path for the Eatons, who tried multiple school options before reverting to home schooling with tutors from the Autism Project.

“Angus has huge academic potential, but it just needs to be harnessed in the right way. Bloom Special Needs Centre helped a lot initially and now we are hugely grateful to the Autism Project. They have both played a massive role,” Paula said.

Unfortunately, in conjunction with the aforementioned difficulties that he faces, Angus also has Dyspraxia and is not as physically developed as other boys his age.

This makes playing his beloved rugby a tough proposition.

“Ever since that love started in 2019, Angus has been campaigning to play the sport. But in a contact sport, there are strict rules in place to prevent injury, and rightfully so,” said Andrew.

“But he never stopped believing, which kept us motivated to figure out a solution on his behalf.”

A partnership with the Ballito Dolphins Rugby Club, where chairman Mark Svenningsen appealed to the provincial union, meant that Angus was able to live out his dreams by playing last month.

Given his developmental challenges, Angus played with the U9 boys and loved every minute, said Andrew.

As he gets older, playing might become all but impossible, but for those 40 minutes you could not dissuade Angus from believing in his future as a Springbok.

“It certainly puts the ability to play sport into perspective. May we all appreciate that opportunity as much as Angus does,” said Svenningsen.

Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news

Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0

WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Add The Courier to WhatsApp at 082 792 9405 and WhatsApp your name and surname to be added.