ROBERTSON: “When I walk onto the rugby field… it’s my stage; this is where I belong. One day, I will take to the field as a Springbok player.”

These are the powerful, confident words of 18-year-old Khanyiso Owo-Oko, a rising rugby star from the Nqubela township in Robertson.

“Being raised by a single mother and my grandmother has taught me not only the love of cooking and domestic responsibilities, but also not to sweat the small stuff!

“Growing up in a house full of women has taught me to respect women. I have learnt from my mother to endure and never give up. They [my mother and grandmother] enabled me to focus on my rugby goals.

“One of my core strengths is simplifying complexity, taking messy everyday complications, processing them calmly and communicating them into clear steps for the rest of the team.

“My other strength is calm agility, breaking down a game strategy quickly, which resulted in me reaching 50 caps, and rewarded as rugby captain in my matric year. Rugby league doors have opened up thanks to non-stop training and fine-tuning my skills and technical strengths, and it’s paying off.”

According to Khanyiso his interest took off in Grade 5 at De Villiers Primary School in Robertson, when a friend invited him to come along and play some rugby for fun. By Grade 7 he was named captain and “Player of the Year”.

In 2025, his matric year, he played for Boland and Elite u-17 twice and for the second time he was named captain of the team.

“Currently I’m playing for Boland u-21 and SA Shield. At the end of October I will join the Witz Barbarians 7’s Club, which will compete in the International 7s tournament in Namibia from 31 October until 1 November.

“I am proof, that through hard work, perseverance and determination one can make something of one’s life, no matter one’s situation or where one was born.”

According to Khanyiso there are lots of young talented people out there who lack the support they need to get ahead in life. He said he wanted to teach them that they can rise from their circumstances and become whomever they want to be. It doesn’t matter who they are or where you come from.

Anyone that can assist Khanyiso with his Namibian tour can contact him on 078 923 3911, 068 088 3591 or alternatively 081 573 7939.

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