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From Varsity Cup to the Springbok squad — Rassie Erasmus says Makhaza will have his day in the green and gold

From Varsity Cup to the Springbok squad — Rassie Erasmus says Makhaza will have his day in the green and gold

IOL News16-06-2025
The rise of varsity student Ntokozo Makhaza from nowhere to the Springbok squad is a heartening story that gives the youth in South Africa hope that their dreams can come true.
The 23-year-old from Harrismith in the Free State is studying for a degree in psychology and social development at the University of Cape Town where he has also been an amateur rugby player for Ikeys in the Varsity Cup.
A month ago, Rassie Erasmus called Makhaza to invite him to the Springbok alignment camp, but he thought it was a prank call at first.
Ikey's had won the Varsity Cup and Makhaza was the Player of the Tournament, as he was last year, too. Erasmus has been watching and was so impressed with the wing's performances — yes, Big Brother Rassie watches everything — that he wanted to find out more.
'Macky,' as he is known to his teammates, duly attended the camp, and Erasmus has reflected on the newcomer's participation.
'It's been a pleasure to work with him,' Erasmus said.
'He's consistently been the top Varsity Cup player, and especially in terms of point scoring, probably one of the best in the competition's history.
'You sometimes wonder, is this one of those players who slipped through the cracks? It's been good to see what he brings.'
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Rassie makes many changes to Bok squad for second Test against Australia
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