SIPHELELE Uhuru Nase received a hero’s welcome from his family when he landed at Cape Town International Airport at the end of September following the Rhinos Schools’ Tour to Ireland.
Nase revealed that they left Gqeberha for Cape Town on September 21. He stated that the people of Ireland were very cordial as they received a warm welcome in Dublin.
“The reception was very warm at Croke Park, and we had friends there. We lost our first game, but we fought tooth and nail. We drew our second game and lost by one point in our last game,” said Nase, who urged other children to give their best in whatever sport they play. “We gained a lot of experience in Ireland, and it was such a nice tour for us. I would like to thank my parents for showing moral support to me through thick and thin.”
His father, Mangaliso Nase, revealed that it was not easy to secure funds for his son to tour Ireland. He explained, “I wrote letters to the Province of the Eastern MEC: Sport, Recreation, Arts & Culture: Honourable Sibulele Ngongo, but I was referred to many offices, and nothing came up. I also wrote to the office of the national sports minister in search of airfares, but I got nothing.”
Nase appealed to all parents to give moral support to their children in order to succeed in life because “the child performs better when their parents watch them participating. Rugby scouts are free to talk to my son and myself.”
Nase said, “I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to PE Express for the exposure they gave my son. I would also like to thank the coaches, Gunter Durrbaum and Louis van Straaten, for opening opportunities for my son. A few readers of PE Express advised me on what I should do to secure funds for the tour. One of the readers deposited a sum of R500 for my son into the Rhinos Tour account.”
