Sazi Sandi’s remarkable journey has brought him to the brink of his 50th Stormers cap, writes LINDIZ VAN ZILLA.
The 27-year-old tighthead prop is set to reach the milestone on Saturday night against Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium.
“It’s definitely special,” said Sandi, who came off the bench in the Stormers’ win against the Dragons last week. “It’s something I earmarked at the start of the season. To get close to 50 for this team means a lot.”
Central to that journey was his late father Bonisile, a celebrated anti-apartheid lawyer and later High Court judge who always insisted that his three children prioritise academic pursuits.
“My dad didn’t really see rugby as a career opportunity at first. He was more focused on us growing up, getting to university, getting a degree and getting a job,” Sandi explained, adding that his two older brothers Melisizwe and Buntu had also been very good rugby players.
“Judge Boni”, as he was affectionately known, died in 2017 at the age of 62.
“He loved his job,” Sazi said of his father who was one of the first black judges to be appointed in the Eastern Cape in 2000. “So he was very influential in terms of talking to us about that. And also maybe not understanding the rugby landscape in the early 2000s.
“As I said, my brothers are good, especially my oldest brother who is very, very good,” he said. “My dad was a bit reluctant [for them to play rugby], maybe because of a lack of knowledge of how it works. And because rugby is not a career you can do for 40 years like what he did.”
Sandi attended St Andrew’s College in Makhanda, formerly Grahamstown, and was starting to get noticed, playing Grant Khomo Week at 16, then Craven Week and SA Schools.
“Then it became more of a reality that maybe this kid can do it and my father could see that I was keen,” he recalled.
“My brother also just got into his chats to him and he was excited that I was doing well. But he also needed more information about it.
“Then at the end of my matric year, we had to visit a few unions. We came down to the Stormers, we got to Newlands, and my dad got to ask all the questions he wanted to ask and he was sold and very excited.
“And that’s when we sat down in his bedroom and mapped out everything. He said, ‘Well, how do you get to the top level?’ And we literally broke down each level, from U19 all the way up to the Springboks.
“That was quite a crucial moment for me because that was kind of my dad saying, go for it and if you’re going to go for it, go for all of it.”
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Sandi’s father passed away just as he was starting to make it in the professional ranks.
“When I get the opportunity to play my 50th, it will be a great moment to look back at that story and say, ‘Dad, I’m still on my way’.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Sazi set for emotional Stormers milestone appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Sazi Sandi’s remarkable journey has brought him to the brink of his 50th Stormers cap.
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