A rising young rugby star with a bright future on the horizon is beaming with national pride after being granted the life-changing opportunity to fly the country’s flag on the globe’s biggest stage and taking the Gold and Green to new heights.
Hughwan Engelbrecht is back on home soil after representing South Africa at the 2023 International Tag Federation (ITF) Tag World Cup in Ireland from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 August. The 23-year-old from Strand was selected for the men’s open Bok rugby team, one of three representing the country at the international tournament. Engelbrecht earned his spot on the local squad in January with sterling performances in the national trials played at Villagers Rugby Club in Claremont. While he recalled initially being surprised by his selection as a Springbok, he was also overwhelmed with gratitude for a second opportunity to take the world stage and showcase his skilful play.
In less than a year after taking up the sport of tag rugby, Engelbrecht proudly donned the green and gold of South Africa at the Tag 2018 World Cup in Australia. (“Tag speedster plays for SA down under,” DistrictMail, 22 November 2018.) Being only 18 years old at the time, he was the youngest SA team member as well as the flag bearer and mascot carrier at the tournament’s opening ceremony.
At this year’s World Cup Engelbrecht and his teammates clinched overall seventh place after losing a closely contested quarter-final encounter to Lebanon, which inflicted a 5–6 loss on the local outfit and advanced to the final against Australia.
To add to his World Cup success, the talented young sportsman also stepped up to the plate as a sevens player for the Raithby-based NPO Forward Foundation in a clash against the Blitzboks this past weekend (both Friday 11 and Saturday 12 August). “Once again, I consider myself blessed,” he said.
Engelbrecht was introduced to the sport by his friend Jevonne Britton, who invited him to join the Misfit A21 team, which participated in the SAS League at Markotter in Stellenbosch in December 2020. As an avid track athlete and talented Boland hurdler he was a natural fit for the game of tag rugby, and the team’s captain and SA team coach, Fijian Gilbert Mondrau, encouraged him to try the sport.
Blessed with agility, the young man was selected for the wing position and quickly made an impact in the team and league. In February 2021, he was one of several Mitsfit A21 team members to participate in the SA trials at the tag-rugby head office at Brookeside in Claremont. His selection as part of a 20-man training squad for the World Cup eventually culminated in his selection for the SA men’s open team in June 2018.
Due to his participation in the 2018 World Cup Engelbrecht was unable to complete his matric year, but with determination shifted his focus to academics and bogged down, obtaining his senior certificate in May the following year (2019).
After completing his schooling Hughwan enrolled at the Health and Fitness Professionals Academy (HFPA) and qualified as a personal trainer. His inability to complete his practical assessments as part of his studies, which was done online due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns, led to establishing his own home-based gym, Grow Fitness Centre.
What started as a means to allow Engelbrecht to do his practicals online via Microsoft Teams is now a thriving start-up that is still going strong after nearly three years.
What’s more, Engelbrecht fuelled his passion by serving as a conditioning coach for Strand Liga Rugby Club last year. He is currently coaching various school athletes as well as rugby players of various clubs.
Furthermore, the rugby talent also joined the Helderberg Rugby Club ranks and serves as an asset to the Berge first team. Engelbrecht cited his performance during the away match against Hamlets in Malmesbury on Saturday 3 June as a highlight in his sporting career. Not only was the encounter his debut match, but the speedster surged over the tryline numerous times, adding four tries to Berge’s scoreboard. The clash set the tone for games to follow, with Engelbrecht scoring in every match since.
He said he drew inspiration from both his parents, who excelled on the track as long distance runners and represented Western Province, and his brother who was a WP wrestler. His big rugby dream is to play for the Blitzboks one day.
