| | Makazole Mapimpi will go down in history as the player who scored the first ever try for South Africa in a rugby world cup final. He is thought of by many as the greatest finisher in Springbok rugby, a winger with pace and finesse who has scored many great tries for his national team. Mapimpi’s story is made all the more remarkable when considering where he has come from to achieve such international success.
Mapimpi is from a poverty-stricken village in the Eastern Cape where there was little hope of achieving greatness. He walked 10 kilometres each day to school and by the time he reached adulthood, all of his immediate family had died. To him, achieving in rugby seemed to be only possible for the privileged who attended a private rugby school where they could be seen by scouts. That was not a pathway that was open to him.
Mapimpi played local rugby throughout school and afterwards as an adult, but it appeared that there was no hope of him making it professionally in the sport he loved. Eventually, at age 25, he was picked up by the recently bankrupt professional side, the Border Bulldogs. The Bulldogs sat at the bottom of the table of the Currie Cup and lost far more games than they won, but it was an opportunity for Mapimpi to learn and grow in the game and to be seen by those in the professional world of rugby. After three seasons with the Bulldogs, he moved on to the Cheetahs and then a few seasons later to the Sharks, his natural abilities and hard work now shining on the professional stage. In 2018, four years after first playing for the Bulldogs, Mapimpi was selected for the South African Springboks. Against all odds, Mapimpi had received the highest honours in South African rugby. He would go on to be part of the 2019 World Cup winning side. |
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| | | Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it.
Michael Jordan |
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| | So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 |
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| Mapimpi had no clear pathway to professional rugby. He couldn’t receive the level of coaching needed and he had little opportunity to be seen by selectors, and yet with persistence and hard work, he reached the highest level of rugby. Coaches who have worked with Mapimpi said that when he entered professional rugby, there were gaps in his game but his willingness to learn and determination to work hard meant he quickly developed in the areas that were once weak.
Achieving in sport is often not a fair or even competition. Some may have extensive support, resources and top level coaching, while others may have to struggle on their own with little help or funding. If we are on the disadvantaged side of the scale it will be much harder to achieve success but as Mapimpi has shown, it is not impossible. Disadvantages are unfair. No one deserves to have less chance than someone else, but the reality is that it happens. We can rage at the unfairness of it all and become bitter at how easy some get it, or we can hand the situation over to God, knowing that He sees our struggle, He knows the disparity and He walks through it with us. God knows what difficulties you have to overcome, He knows the struggles you face that no one else knows about and He is right there to help you through them. |
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Thank You Lord that You know all that I go through. Help me to rest in that knowledge, relying on You every step of the way with whatever I face. |
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Contributor:
Sarah Auld, SCNZ (pictured)
General Editor:
Sarah Auld
Content Editor:
Phil Pawley |
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