Donovan Pretorius - Captain of Sasolburg
Hoerskool Sasolburg captain Donovan Pretorius is not your average rugby player.
Yes, he loves chasing a loose rugby ball – as any openside flanker does! – and he is a good leader; serving as his school's headboy too.
However, what separates him from the rest is his love for mathematics… so much so that he would like to study Actuarial Science – at the University of Potchefstroom – next year.
"I've just always loved maths," he says, half-trying to explain his love for numbers. "My love for maths made me decide to study to become an actuary."
As a lover of numbers it is no surprise that Donovan is also his team's main line-out caller and guru, but he began playing in the back row in high school only.
He reveals: "I was quite fat as a youngster, so I played prop in my junior days. I moved to loose forward in Grade Seven and my love and hunger for rugby really began then."
At 85 kilograms and 1,81 metres, Donovan does not have to stand back to anyone on the field and it is no surprise that his favourite rugby player is Springbok scavenger Heinrich Brüssow.
And he is hoping that his ball-stealing abilities will put his team in good stead in Saturday's FNB Classic Clash against HTS Sasolburg.
"We have the potential to win," he says, pointing to last year's narrow 22-25 defeat against HTS.
"I'd say HTS are a bit stronger up front (than us), but we have (more) speed and skill in our backline. If we can just get enough ball, and we're certainly committed to doing so, then we could just come away with the win."
On the leadership front, Donovan admits that there is extra pressure that comes with the captaincy, but he would not want it any other way.
"It's a huge honour," he enthuses, "and I'm looking forward to leading my team out in what's always a tough match."
