Zedan Johnson. Picture: instagram
As South Africa’s biggest age group tournament kicked off, there was one boy who made sure to entertain the crowd with moves that had him receiving several nods as a future Springbok.
Craven Week is a traditional schoolboy tournament that takes place annually. It is in this tournament that rugby unions across the country gather some of their provinces’ top-performing talents to showcase their on-field abilities.
This is done in hopes of being recruited by scouts from some of the top rugby unions and universities to set them up for a career in professional rugby.
With most under-18s bringing their A-game to impress spectators, there was one unofficial player who stole the spotlight.
Zedan Johnson of Rietkuil Primary School proved that he has all of the attributes needed to make it a future Springbok one day.
The under-9 rugby player who currently plays scrum-half at the above-mentioned school recently competed in a little tournament of his own. Video clips soon began trending on public platforms like TikTok and Instagram when the primary school pupil gave his opponents a nightmare of a day, by running excellent lines, showing off ankle-breaking goose-steps, and stepping his way to the try line.
This has since earned him the attention of thousands of adoring fans on social media platforms.
The comedian Siv Ngesi went as far as comparing him to our current crop of Springbok wingers like Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Edwill van der Merwe, who are all best known for playing a similar style of rugby as well as their signature scrum caps.
“Give him a Springbok contract, put a scrum cap on him and then protect him till he is ready!! Best rugby video ever!”
In a recent interview with Stadio Higher Education, Zedan, who plays scrum-half, said that his rugby idol is in fact Cheslin Kolbe. He says the key to scoring the winning try was firstly to play well and not be selfish with passing the ball.
He hopes to follow in Cheslin’s footsteps and represent the Springboks.
Also see:Kraaifontein’s son, Cheslin Kolbe gives back to the community that raised him