Zander made his mark in Thailand tournament
Rugby
The hardworking Windhoek Gymnasium player led the winning team in the final of the Open division.
Windhoek Gymnasium lock Zander le Roux received praise for his performances as the first and only invited player from Namibia at the World Schools Festival held in Thailand during December.Zander will be in grade 12 in Windhoek Gymnasium this year and likely to play for the first team for a third season in a row, wearing the red scrum cap he has become known for.
“It was a pleasure to have had Zander le Roux as part of the Odyssey XV Spartans team at the 2023 World Schools Festival,” wrote Simon Lewis, director of rugby for the Odyssey XV.
Lewis’ written feedback with regards to Zander:
• Solid work ethic around the park, got through a lot of work on both sides (defence and attack) of the ball.
• Confrontational in the collision, with solid tackle technique on both shoulders.
• His lineout aerial skills made big improvements in the short time we had him as the team started to play together more.
• Catch/pass skills are good.
• Very coachable, uncomplicated, competitive and a great team man.
• Leadership abilities – Zander was selected captain of the team for the final match.
WORLD SCHOOLS FESTIVAL
The fourth World School Festival took place at the Pattana Sports Resort, Thailand during December 2023.
Teams that took part in the Cup tournament included St. Michael’s Collage (Ireland), Hartpury College (England), Cardiff & Vale College (Wales), Oakdale (South Africa), E.G. Jansen (South Africa), Eton College (England) and West Lake Boys (New Zealand).
The Open tournament was contested by Rugby Travel Academy (South Africa), Southern Legion (South Africa), Dubai Tigers (UAE) and Odessey XV Knights and Spartans (two international selections).
The Odyssey Spartan XV squad was 35 invited players from 12 countries, namely England, Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, Ireland, USA, Fiji, Samoa, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, and Zander from Namibia.
The team was coached by Shaun Graham from Nudgee College in Australia and Katleho Juries, the South African U18 coach. The team only had two days to prepare for the tournament. The Odessey Spartan XV won two of their three matches.
AN EXPERIENCE
Le Roux told Sport Wrap the experience taught him a lot regarding the different styles and playing influences of players from different countries.
“Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere tend to be more physical and it took some of our team members a while to adapt to this. Most players in our squad weigh an average of 90 kg or more, so they’re pretty big!
“All of us were struggling with the humidity which sometimes reached 80 percent. As a rugby occasion, it was pretty big, being constantly aware that the tournament was being livestreamed to an audience of about 2.4 million people.
“Leading the Barbarians team as captain in the final was a great privilege for me, and winning the final made it even more special.”