The community of Sir Lowry’s Pass will be nailed to their television sets this coming weekend when they watch one of their own, Gino Cupido, make his official debut as a Springbok Sevens player at World Rugby’s Hong Kong Sevens tournament.
And the 19-year-old Cupido’s parents, Zelna and Gordon, could not be prouder of what their young boy has achieved since the love bug for the oval ball pinched him as a kid growing up in Sir Lowry’s Pass.
“You can almost say he grew up with a ball in hands in the way he loved playing with a ball outside on a patch of grass with his friends,” Zelna tells DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette. “Whenever his birthday would come up, he would always ask me: ‘Mom please by me a new rugby ball for my birthday’.”
He had no want for other fancy toys, as long as he could be outside, barefoot, playing with his friends. The only problem was those balls did not last long because after two days, it would be flat,” Zelna jokingly recalls.
However, Zelna and Gordon recall that their son really started falling in love with the oval ball game in grade two at Sir Lowry’s Pass Primary, becoming the school’s u-13 captain.
And although Zelna runs a very successful daycare centre (Kingdom Kids), she and Gordon (a painter by trade) could not afford to send their talented sons to a fancy school to play his rugby. And at the time that young Gino started his high school career at Gordon High School, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
But with the help of the Helderberg community and teachers in Sir Lowry’s Pass who already saw the newest Blitzbok’s talent, they helped to open doors for the youngster who ended up at Strand High School where he would earn his Western Province Schools and SA Schools colours play his rugby up until his matric year.
Meanwhile, Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman revealed that if it was not for a small injury, Gino would have made his international sevens debut during the Cape Town Sevens in December.
Zelna and Gordon were also looking forward to going to watch their son represent his country at Cape Town Stadium but says their son took the disappointment with a positive outlook, with Gordon saying: “He told me, Pa don’t worry everything will happen as it should and you know what, I would love to make my debut the Hong Kong Sevens. It is the biggest stage where you can debut because that is where sevens all started.”
And on Friday, Gino’s wish for a Hong Kong debut will become a reality when South Africa face Uruguay (11:56) and Australia (14:39) in their Pool B games at Kai Tak Stadium. The Blitzboks then tackle New Zealand in their final Pool B game on Saturday at 07:43 before the knock-out rounds start.
All the action of the Hong Kong Sevens will be broadcast on SuperSport.
