Captain's profile: Bruwer van Zyl

Augsburg Landbou captain Bruwer van Zyl said he feels honoured to lead his team in their Classic Clash against Landboudal this weekend.

The 1.82m, 80kg flank believes his experience and his leadership skills are his main strengths going into a game, which he hopes will help his team to victory.

"There are a lot of strong players in my team and I feel humbled that they felt I should lead them.

"My strengths as a player are that I can carry the ball well, I am a physical player and I have experience on my side. As a captain I aim to lead them through my gameplay – to set an example," said van Zyl.

Van Zyl wants his team to do the best they can and he feels they can only achieve this if he does it himself as a captain and leader.

"My philosophy as captain is to practice what you preach. I cannot tell my teammates to do something or be someone if I do not do it myself.

"I need to be a good example to my teammates as a player and as a person; otherwise they will not respect me or the game," he explained.

Van Zyl believes they will be in for a tough encounter against Landboudal and his message to his team was a simple one.

"It is going to be a big and difficult game for us as we are two agricultural schools competing against each other.

"My message to my team this week has been to apply what our coaches have taught us during practices on game day.

"We didn’t travel nearly 800km to lose. We have a very young team with a lot of potential that will grow from strength to strength," Van Zyl added.

Playing in the final of Die Burger Schools Rugby Competition is the highlight of Van Zyl's career so far. Although Augsburg lost by a narrow margin it remains one of his most memorable games.

When asked about his plans for the future, Van Zyl said he wants to study at the Elsenburg Institute for Agricultural Training and become a farmer.