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‘Siya's rise from humble beginnings to lifting that World Cup trophy is the stuff of fairytales.’ MARCUS RASHFORD ‘Siya Kolisi is a warrior on the field and an inspiration off it. This book is an extraordinary reminder of what can be achieved with inner belief and an indefatigable spirit.’ JAY SHETTY
When Siya Kolisi leads the Springboks out onto the field at the Rugby World Cup in September 2019, it will be the crowning glory of an incredible journey that began on the impoverished streets of Zwide, a township outside Port Elizabeth. As the first black South African to captain a Springbok rugby team, Kolisi's remarkable story is unique and deserves to be heard. His mother was a teenager when he was born. She left him in the care of his grandmother who brought him up until she died (in his arms) when Siya was twelve. He found love and acceptance playing junior rugby with the African Bombers club until his talent was spotted by the prestigious Grey High School who offered Siya a full schol...
When Rassie Erasmus took over as coach of the Springboks in 2018, few thought they had a chance of winning the Rugby World Cup. The Boks had slipped to seventh in the world rankings and lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Less than two years later, jubilant crowds lined the streets of South Africa's cities to welcome back the victorious team. Sportswriter Lloyd Burnard takes the reader on the thrilling journey of a team that went from no-hopers to world champions. He examines how exactly this turnaround was achieved. Interviews with players, coaches and support staff reveal how the principles of inclusion, openness and focus, as well as careful planning and superb physical conditionin...
Heart Over Height tells the motivational story of how three-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson combined an unstoppable will with dogged determination to achieve his goals, and how those traits can apply to anyone facing their own seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
An examination of families and schools in South Africa, revealing how the marketisation of schooling works to uphold the privilege of whiteness.
“There will be a black Springbok over my dead body.” — Dr Danie Craven, President of the South African Rugby Board, 1969 Just a year after the controversial D’Oliveira affair, the organised disruption of the all-white 1969/70 South African rugby and cricket tours to Britain represented a significant challenge to apartheid politics. Led by future cabinet minister Peter Hain, the ‘Stop the Seventy Tour’ campaign brought about the cancellation of both tours, presaging white South Africa’s expulsion from the Olympics and the end of apartheid sport altogether. With his brand of attention-grabbing, direct action sports protest, the 19-year-old Hain emerged as a hero to some and enemy...
A high-octane journey into the brutal underworld of the South African and transnational drug trade. Journalist Hazel Friedman was on assignment in Thailand to document the stories of the increasing number of South Africans convicted as drug mules when she made a horrifying discovery. Many of the drug traffickers are in fact decoys. These individuals find themselves coerced or deceived into drug running. The 'dead cows' are set up to be arrested, thereby allowing professional mules carrying much larger quantities of drugs to slip past undetected. Through the heartbreaking accounts of the prisoners, Friedman became convinced that the decoys should not be viewed as perpetrators of narcotics trafficking. Her own high-risk investigations – including an attempt to get recruited as a drug mule (filmed with a secret camera), as well as trying to track down the middlemen – appeared to confirm this. She concluded that many drug mules are victims of human trafficking – as pawns readily sacrificed in a profit-driven war waged by global drug barons.
This is a moving story of the rise to fame from humble beginnings of one of South Africa's most popular rugby stars, written specifically for young readers. Early on in his life, Siya discovered that rugby could be his route out of the grinding poverty in which he had grown up in the Eastern Cape. He worked hard, made sure he was noticed and managed to secure a scholarship to the prestigious Grey High School. But he had to adapt quickly to a world he had never encountered, while keeping his roots in the community that he knew and loved. His hard work and natural ability saw him moving to Cape Town to join the Stormers, trying to break into the Springbok team, and learning to adjust to life at the top of the game that is a national obsession. Siya Kolisi is part of the 'Road to Glory' series, which covers some of South Africa's sporting legends as they set out on their journeys to becoming national and international stars.
Tendai Mtawarira is known throughout the rugby world simply as Beast. Or, more often than not, ‘Beeeaaassssttt!’, as crowds from Durban to London, Buenos Aires to Auckland cry whenever he gets the ball. In 2018 he became the most capped prop in Springbok history, earning his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, and in 2019 he became the most capped Super Rugby player in South Africa. Due to play in his third World Cup in September 2019, Beast has been in a winning series against the British and Irish Lions, contested two Super Rugby finals and won three Currie Cups with his beloved Sharks. Along the way, he has been moved from back row to front row, bullied by xenophobic politicians and undergone three bouts of heart surgery. Beast is the story of how a humble man from Zimbabwe has become a rugby icon.
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