Stormers flank Nama Xaba has dreamt of playing in the green and gold for years. A series of injuries had seen him sidelined, though. He is currently recovering from a back injury, and hopes to be back on the field by October. He spoke to SMF News’s Thameenah Daniels about his road to the Stormers, and on the mental stamina needed to recover from injury.
Stormers flank Kuyenzeka Kwenama Praisegod Xaba, known as Nama, has a degree in land surveying from the University of Cape Town. PHOTO: Thameenah Daniels
“A lot of people just want to be Springboks,” says Stormers flanker Nama Xaba. “I don’t want to just be a Springbok, I want to be a great Springbok.”
Nama, who was born in 1997, started playing rugby when he went to primary school.
But at 14, he was introduced to a different standard of rugby when Glenwood High School, in Durban, offered him a half-academic and half-sport scholarship. This meant that he would attend academy training for rugby. It was the beginning of a life rooted in strict routine.
Training to be the best
While at school, Nama represented the KwaZulu-Natal team at Craven Week a number of times. He was additionally offered a position in the Western Province U19 setup. He was only 17 at the time, though, and signed a contract with Western Province that he only took up after finishing school.
Among other accolades, Nama Xaba won the Currie Cup Player of the Year in 2022. PHOTO: Thameenah Daniels
He was initially sent to Stellenbosch Academy of Training where he was conditioned into a professional rugby player. Nama then started his career playing for the DHL Stormers, whilst studying towards a degree in land surveying at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on a full sporting bursary. He also played for UCT’s varsity cup team.
Many people struggle to adapt to the training regiment of professional sports, says Nama. But this was not a problem for him.
“I was so used to it…,” says Nama. “Five years of my high school career: You wake up at 5:30; in the gym at 5:45. And then you must go to school. Then you train until 17:30. Then we eat. Then it’s prep, and you sleep.”
Some kids say I want to be a police officer, I want to be a doctor, or an engineer and it just changes with years, but I always knew I wanted to be a rugby player
Grounded through family
“Some kids say ‘I want to be a police officer, I want to be a doctor, or an engineer’,” says Nama. “But I always knew I wanted to be a rugby player.”
When he started playing rugby at the age of six, he was already stronger and faster than most of his team mates. “The more I played, the more I loved the game and the more I wanted to progress with the game,” he recalls.
Nama, whose full name is Kuyenzeka Kwenama Praisegod Xaba, is one of eight children and grew up in a traditional Zulu household in Vryheid in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.
“I was a mommy’s boy,” he says. “Being the youngest child I got a lot of special treatment.”
Although his family faced financial difficulties, he says his parents always did their best to support him and his siblings. “I had a roof over my house, we had food and went to a good school […] so I would never discredit them,” he says.
Nama first experienced racism after starting school in 2003. He recalls classes – and rugby teams – being split according to race.
“From young, that was the norm, I was the only black kid in my rugby team,” says Nama. “The worst was when I was 15. There were mainly white people at our local gym.”
Nama, however, had to continue to use the gym, where he and his brother recall being told that they stink, as he needed to stay fit to fulfil his bursary requirements.
Comebacks after setbacks
Nama’s biggest hurdle in his professional rugby career had been untimely injuries – many of which involved his ankles. He describes his ankles as his Achilles Heel, as he has had to undergo three ankle surgeries in his career.
One of these injuries came when he was tackled from the side in a training match against the South African U20 side. He was literally brought to his knees in tears, as the tendon in his ankle tore.
Another significant ankle-related injury was when he was playing to be selected for the Springbok team after lockdown, in 2021. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, had just left the Stormers and Nama had been handed his starting jersey. His game was cut short with yet another ankle injury.
Nama Xaba struggled with his mental health after an injury to his spine in November 2022. This injury has set his career back by 11 months, and he is still in recovery. PHOTO: Thameenah Daniels
An injury to his back in November 2022 – which he says was the product of ‘ego lifting’ – was the worst to date, though.
“I wanted to get the best scores out of everyone on the team, which I did. But I thought something snapped in my back, like a muscle tear,” he says.
He is still recovering from this injury, which has set his career back by 11 months. This has left a mark on his mental health.
“Seeing your body just wither away and you know you have to rebuild and give it time,” says Nama. “My resilience has to be different, because I can’t do anything in my power, like… to fix it.”
The importance of routine
Alwande Xaba, Nama’s brother, recalls that Nama had always been very strict on himself in sticking to his conditioning routine. When in grade 8, Nama would ask Alwande to walk with him to the gym on the other side of their town so that he could practice.
“He would write down how many times he ate and what kind of food he was supposed to eat,” Alwande recalls. “He also stuck to a training schedule.”
“I don’t think you can find a more dedicated rugby player,” says Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Stormers prop, and one of Nama’s best friends. “That’s what separates him from a lot of us, in this aspect [rugby] but also life.”
“Sometimes, if I phone him at 20:30, I can’t get through to him,” says Lee-Marvin. At that time, Nama’s phone will already be on ‘do not disturb’ and he will be in bed already in order to get up early for training the next day, he says.
As part of his recovery, Nama’s current daily routine involves waking up at 7:00, having a cold shower, eating breakfast, and reading from the Bible. He then walks for about 5 km. He also attends training daily, except on Tuesday and Thursdays when he has Bible school, and a prayer group.
Professional rugby player Nama Xaba is a devout Christian. He takes responsibility to work for his own success, but also places it in the hands of God. PHOTO: Thameenah Daniels
The love and support of the people around him, as well as his relationship with God and sticking to his routine, has helped him to stay mentally focused through the recovery period. “I know I function so much better with the routine,” Nama says.
But injuries remain difficult to manage mentally, and also bruises the ego, he says.
“I’m sort of like a product. And as soon as my expiry date goes, they get the next person. It’s just the way sports works,” Nama says, adding that players need to understand that playing professional rugby is a business.
Recovery, for Nama, has not been about simply returning to where he was when he got injured. Rather, it is about growing to be at a better place to where he was when he got injured.
“Physically, spiritually and emotionally,” he says.
Stormers flank Nama Xaba expects to be back on the field by October 2023. PHOTO: Thameenah Daniels