Rugby Captains. In our popular series about sports captains, Schools That Rock today talks to Joshua Paddock. Joshua is the captain of Curro Langebaan High School’s 1st rugby team. Joshua today scores the thirteenth try in our series this year on Rugby Captains from high schools in South Africa.
“I started playing rugby at eight years old. I like rugby because it is a beautiful game. It also teaches you how to become a gentleman and it positively influences your behaviour off the field. My father was the person to get me into rugby.
From what I remember of my first game, is that I was pretty excited to get onto the field and play. I first started with 7s rugby. What I also remember about my first rugby game, is just having fun.
The first time I was elected as captain, I was in my old school’s u13A team. It was before I moved to my current school. When I first jogged on the field as captain, it was an incredible feeling. After the game it was quite emotional because it was always a dream of mine to be first team Rugby Captain.
Advice to beginners
My advice, as rugby captain to beginners is, just believe in yourself and trust in your skills and talent.
The position I currently play is 8th man. I played flank the whole of last season. Furthermore I also played loose head prop in primary school. I love the position I am playing right now!
How do I, as rugby captain, keep my team motivated? It’s important to make sure that the boys have a positive mindset throughout the entire game. When things aren’t going so well, I like to make sure that I can highlight our current weaknesses and provide solutions to the problem.
A good rugby player should be able to stay respectful towards the people around him. They should also be able to use any kind of feedback from those around him and not take it personally. My key to success on the rugby field is self-belief and having each other’s backs. Nothing beats self-belief and teamwork.
What inspires me every time jog on to the rugby field for a match, is the priviledge of wearing my school’s badge on my chest. It allows me to play with great passion and it drives me to want to uphold our name. I have a lot of great players around me that inspire me to be better in every game. We are also fortunate to have great coaches to keep us motivated.
The game I had most fun, was our last match of the season last year against Hopefield. It was extremely fun. The entire build up to the game was incredible. It was super fun because it brought out the best of all of us and we played great rugby that day. My worst game, I would have to say’, was our game last weekend against Stellenbosch. I slipped up and let my anger get in the way of my actions. It’s not something I was proud of. Even though we won, it didn’t feel like a win to all of us.
A good decision I made that worked for us, was taking a quick tap when nobody expected it. I just fully backed myself and luckily the result was positive.
Advice
When I had a tough game, the first person I go to is my father. I know he is honest with me when it comes to my rugby. My coach is also a great person to go to for advice because he is straightforward.
My personal rugby goal for this year, as rugby captain, is that I really want to showcase my skills in the game and just keep improving certain aspects of my game. Do I intend to continue playing rugby after school? Yes, I would love to play rugby after school and also play professional rugby.
Handling my responsibilities at rugby alongside social and academic responsibilities? I take everything as it comes and when it comes to rugby, I make sure that I give it my 100% when its needed.
My biggest single highlight of my rugby career so far, was playing u13 Craven Week. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
When the rugby season is over, I take part in athletics and focus on my hammer throw.
My greatest rugby hero is Cheslin Kolbe. He was underestimated because of his size, but he never let them bring him down. His self-belief is also very inspiring.
The professional rugby player I would love to have coffee with, is Malcolm Marx.I think he has a great personality and it would be a great experience.
I would describe myself in one word as determined.“
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