“I firmly believe that being a great sportsman starts and ends with always remaining humble. I love what the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:7: ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
These are the words of Toyota Cheetahs centre, Robert Ebersohn, who says tomorrow another sports star can make his or her debut and people will start following them. That is why he believes a good sportsman or woman is significant even when the sport is taken away from who they are.
He takes from Maya Angelou by saying that he has learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Ebersohn has been playing professional rugby for the last 15 years. “I started my career at the age of 19 in 2008 at the Cheetahs. I got married in 2013 and moved to France to play for Montpellier, Castres, and Béziers. And in 2021 I came back to Bloemfontein.”
To him playing rugby brings some sort of nostalgia as he explains that his father used to play rugby.
“When I was a kid growing up, my twin brother Sias and I used to watch him. We loved to play together. We knew from a very young age that we wanted to play rugby like dad when we grow up.”
So this is Ebersohn living his childhood dream: “It was my dream to play for the Cheetahs, it was my dream to play for the Cheetahs with my brother, and it was one of my dreams to play for the Cheetahs a 100 times. So, I am a lucky boy.”
“This has been a childhood dream for me. When you get older, your goals and what you want out of life changes, but you will also remember what you wanted as a kid, and this is what I wanted as a young boy.
He played his 100th game for the team in May and described the feeling as nothing but an honour. “I am proud to say I have only played for one team in South Africa and that is the Cheetahs. And to do it a 100 times is very special for me.”
He says that he believes that a professional rugby player deserve all the recognition that they get from fans. “We work extremely hard at our trade and on Saturdays we showcase it for everyone to come and watch and they are free to give their opinion whether it is good or bad. If you played well, the fans will love you and if not, they hate you.”
On the question of how he preps for a big game he answered that for him it is all about who is in the crowd: “I like to look at the crowd before the game, talk to the children supporting us, and just thanking people for coming to see us play.”
He hopes one day he will be remembered as someone who truly cared. “For my family, my friends, my teammates, and everyone else around me.”
The Cheetah player says the thought of his best days still being ahead of him is what motivates him on a daily basis. “I am grateful for what I have and I read a quote the other day, that says ‘with gratitude optimism is sustainable’! People who know me can tell you I am optimistic and I am a dreamer. I dream of a better tomorrow. And that is what motivates me that my best days are yet to come.”
When he is not on the field, coaching the u14A and B boys at Grey College or working at Nashua Bloemfontein, where he says he hopes to build a long term partnership as he feels the environment is vibrant and innovative, he’ll be found spending time with his family. He is married to a content creator Mariza Ebersohn and they have two beautiful children Christiaan (6) and Lienke (3). He also enjoys having his family close.
“We lived in France for 8 years. It was lovely, however, we missed our friends and family very much. And today we are grateful to see them as often as we can.”
Text: SAZLY MOSES Dressed by: BENTLEY Venue: TOYOTA STADIUM
