The current hooker for the NWU Varsity Cup team, Gustav du Rand, has had an epic start to the season as the leading try scorer.

Du Rand has already scored seven tries this season and will look to add to his tally as the round-robin fixtures of this year’s Varsity cup tournament come to an end in Pretoria. They will need all the points they can get in their last few games as the playoff spots go to the wire.

Du Rand’s rugby journey started at Westville High School, where he matriculated in 2017. He was awarded player of the year and 7s player of the year; he was also the captain of his team.

The hooker looks up to the former Springbok World Cup winner, Schalk Brits, and All Black international, Cody Taylor.

“I see myself playing very similar to them and I like the way they play,” he states. His passion and love for rugby started at a young age, with his dad also playing rugby. Like most rugby players, he enjoys spending time on the golf course and going hunting when he is not on the field.

Du Rand enjoys a big piece of fillet on the braai and is a big supporter of the Sharks rugby team. His game rituals are quite simple; he goes through the game plan and listens to Juice WRLD to get pumped up before the game. The NWU team is currently in their third bubble and ready to put in a final push. Du Rand explained the bio-bubble dynamics heading into the week ahead.

“The bubble is very strict on who enters and leaves. We play table tennis and Xbox but, at the same time, we need to keep up to date with our academics, which is very important. We enjoy the time with each other; there are quite a few pranks among the players in the bubble.”

With Du Rand and a host of other quality players in the team, the NWU will look to book their playoff spot as early as possible and try and bring the cup back to Potchefstroom for the first time since 2016.