Rugby player with a tired body, but full of heart

With the rugby season now at an end, Ronnie Parker has to decide if this was his final season or if he will continue playing the sport he loves. Ronnie wears the number 13 jersey, playing centre position for the unstoppable Cloverleaf Bulldogs.

Born in Bethlehem in 1981, he is the middle child to two other brothers. He schooled in Bethlehem, first at Graanveld Primary School before going to Voortrekker High School. This is where his passion for rugby came into being, playing ‘bulletjie’ rugby in Grade 1 and carrying on right through to matric.

He stopped playing for about a year after he finished school.

15 years ago, he made his way through to Ladysmith for a visit and met his wife, Cindy, to whom he has been married for the past 12 years. The couple have two boys, Brendan and Weylan, who also love rugby and all other sports. “It is entirely their choice to play sport, and they excel in all sports,” says their proud father.

After about six years living in Ladysmith, Ronnie started playing rugby again… He has now been with the Bulldogs for more or less seven years.

“My shoulders are a bit sore after the season and my body is telling me “no”, but my heart does not want to stop,” smiles Ronnie.

When he is not on the field, he runs his own business which has been running for the past three years. Otherwise, he spends time on his other hobbies which include fishing, hunting and just spending time with his friends.

Ronnie’s role model is Juan de Villiers, because he is rather old but still keeps going.

When asked if rugby is an expensive sport, Ronnie says it only gets expensive when you get injured. In all the years Ronnie has dedicated to rugby, not once has he broken any bones and has only gotten stitches above his eye once. His wife and mother both stand behind him in the sport he loves to play.

“To all the guys who want to play but are scared of getting hurt, don’t be scared – just play! Rugby is an amazing sport and brings so many people together. You meet lifelong friends when you play this game,” enthuses Ronnie.

When asked why rugby was the sport he chose, he said he enjoys it because of all the adrenaline and most other sports aren’t as much fun. He adds that because we only live once, he takes each day as it comes and makes the best of it.

“Thank you to everyone for a great year, especially the coaches – Oom Flip, Trevor and Marnus. Maybe I’ll see you all next year,” concludes Ronnie.

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