The hunt is on
2008-08-21
LAST week young rugby players in the Drakenstein area gave their all for SABC2’s new rugby reality series, Up & Under, with the regional selection starting at the Mbekweni Stadium in Paarl. Springbok wing and 2007 IRB player of the year, Bryan Habana, has thrown his weight behind this television show, which is an initiative of the newly-launched Habana Foundation. Up & Under is now embarking on a nationwide search for grassroots rugby talent, chiefly targeting bright, hungry, passionate young players who have had few opportunities to translate their raw ability into something concrete and enduring. A team of selectors will be criss- crossing the country this month to identify talented young rugby players between the ages of 16 and 18 to compete in the reality series. Bernie Habana, father of Bryan and the driving force behind the Habana Foundation, is excited about the prospect of giving back to the community and leaving a living legacy. “The foundation will give financially disadvantaged youngsters some of the opportunities that Bryan had in life, including discipline, love, caring, the correct schooling and mentorship. We are aiming to create more role models to send back into their communities.” Says the programme’s executive producer, Duncan Irvine: “We recognised a need in the country to find raw, undiscovered rugby talent, and a reality TV series is a great platform to do that.” A total of 36 boys will be selected for an intensive eight-week camp, during which they will be moulded into running, tackling, scrumming, mauling, kicking and scoring machines, with Habana providing some valuable tips of the trade. As the series unfolds, the viewing public will vote every week to save the players who have been put up for elimination. The player of the series, as voted for by the viewing public, will receive fantastic prizes to further his budding rugby career. Irvine adds that unlike other reality shows, where contestants are often left to fend for themselves after the glare of the cameras subsides, Up & Under will reward not only the winner but will make a lasting commitment to changing the lives of the top 24 boys as well. These youngsters will form the Habana Foundation’s first intake and will benefit from quality secondary and tertiary education, as well as learning valuable off-the-field life skills such as public speaking, financial and legal skills and, of course, being tutored in rugby by some of the country’s top names. Bernie Habana adds that it is not all going to be handed to the young- sters “on a silver plate”. “It’s going to be tough. I would say that being a good rugby player requires 10% talent, and 90% hard work.” The 11-episode reality series starts airing on SABC2 on Saturday at 18:30.
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