The Tuks Varsity Cup rugby captain, Sango Xamlashe, may be perceived to be loud on the rugby field as he is constantly talking.

But is one take time off and listen, you will find there is a reason why Xamlashe is doing what he is doing. He is encouraging and advising his teammates. He wants the team to win. It is what rugby is about for him.

Xamlashe compares his continuous talking to a pilot coming in for a landing.

“There are always a lot of variables at stake when an aeroplane approaches the landing strip — no room for error. That is why the captain must be informed at all times. I see my role on the rugby field as the same,” he explained during a recent interview.

Xamlashe believes he is an excellent communicator and according to him, he could talk all day on and off the field.

“I think communication brings calmness to everyone on the field as they need to know what is happening. It is when things become silent that things tend to go wrong,” he remarked.

His communication skills and the way he is not shying away from extra responsibility are two of the main reasons why TuksRugby’s head coach, Nico Luus, decided on Xamlashe as captain. He will share the responsibility with Jaco Bezuidenhout.

The tournament starts next week on 4 April and all the games will be played in Pretoria, as the teams will live, practice and play in a bio-bubble in the city.

Xamlashe is the first black player who will captain Tuks during a Varsity Cup campaign. Nqubeko Zulu, who represented Tuks during the 2011 and 2012 Varsity Tournaments, fulfilled the same role for Tuks during the Carlton Cup Tournament.

The young captain’s rugby CV is impressive. He represented the Junior Springboks in 2018 and helped the Blue Bulls under-21 team to win the national title in 2019.

Xamlashe started out playing as flyhalf and he believes his DNA as a rugby player is still that of a flyhalf, because he strives towards being tactically astute.

“The one good thing about last year’s Covid Pandemic lockdown was that it gave me time to reflect about the way rugby is changing and how you, as a player, must evolve to adapt to it. No one of us can ever afford to rest on our laurels. There is always something to improve on,” said Xamlashe.

According to Xamlashe, he can’t wait to take to the field again.

“It is nearly a year since we last played. Needless to say, we are all dying for an opportunity to be between the four white lines. Especially since we don’t know if we will get a chance to play rugby again after Varsity Cup. We can only hope,” he concluded.

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