Arenzo Izaacs. PHOTO Hendrina Schuster
Arenzo Izaacs. PHOTO Hendrina Schuster

M&K Gertze’s rugby hero

A rugby player through and through
M&K Gertze High School's Arenzo Izaacs says rugby is an essential part of his life and drives him to always do his best.
Mel-zene Dien
Arenzo Izaacs is a grade 11 learner at M&K Gertze High School. Izaacs grew up in Rehoboth and started playing rugby in primary school at the age of eleven. He is now the captain of the M&K Gertze Boys U/19 Rugby, the A team. Izaacs said his father inspired him to play rugby, as he was a rugby player himself.

After playing trials in March, Izaacs was chosen to play for the Namibian U/20 rugby team. He said:

“It was a very proud moment for me, I knew that my hard work paid off and all my efforts didn’t go to waste’’.

The team travelled to Zimbabwe on 17 April and played in Harare from 20 to 29 April, returning to Namibia on 30 April. They lost two matches and won one. In 2022, he played for the U/18 national team and went to Wellington, South Africa, for the academy week. In the same year, he played for the U/17 national team, which went to Potchefstroom, South Africa, for the Cosasa Sevens Tournament.



Big dreams

Isaacs aims to become a professional rugby player one day. One of his biggest goals is to play for the Welwitschias rugby team and be part of the team for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Besides rugby, Isaacs is also interested in marine engineering.

"Rugby is an essential part of my life because my whole family played rugby, especially my father and that drives me to give my best," he said.

Rugby is not just important for Izaacs, but it has also motivated him throughout his life and boosted his confidence.

In 2022, he suffered a shoulder injury and couldn’t play for two months, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing rugby as a career. He added: “Rugby isn’t just my dream, but my life purpose.”

Rugby players often face challenges because rugby is a collision sport. Thus, traumatic injuries sometimes occur, which can include fractured bones, dislocated fingers and elbows, cuts, sprained ligaments, strained muscles, or deep muscle bruises. These injuries can cause players to either quit playing rugby or prevent them from playing for an extended period of time.

To young rugby players aspiring to pursue a career in rugby, understand that whether you win or lose a match, always give your best. Whenever you step onto the field, play with pride, honouring your skills. View every match as an opportunity to gain experience. Above all, love what you do and respect it.

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Namibian Sun 2024-07-02

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Rugby World Cup U20: Wales U20 34 vs 41 New Zealand U20 | South Africa U20 57 vs 7 Fiji U20 | Australia U20 35 vs 11 Georgia U20 | Ireland U20 55 vs 15 Italy U20 | England U20 40 vs 21 Argentina U20 | France U20 49 vs 12 Spain U20 Katima Mulilo: 11° | 30° Rundu: 12° | 32° Eenhana: 12° | 32° Oshakati: 13° | 30° Ruacana: 13° | 30° Tsumeb: 15° | 27° Otjiwarongo: 8° | 27° Omaruru: 9° | 27° Windhoek: 7° | 24° Gobabis: 8° | 27° Henties Bay: 10° | 18° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:44, High tide: 13:07, Low Tide: 18:54, High tide: 01:19 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:42, High tide: 13:05, Low Tide: 18:52, High tide: 01:17 Walvis Bay: 11° | 21° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:42, High tide: 13:04, Low Tide: 18:52, High tide: 01:16 Rehoboth: 7° | 25° Mariental: 8° | 23° Keetmanshoop: 8° | 21° Aranos: 8° | 25° Lüderitz: 11° | 20° Ariamsvlei: 9° | 21° Oranjemund: 9° | 18° Luanda: 20° | 22° Gaborone: 10° | 26° Lubumbashi: 11° | 28° Mbabane: 11° | 27° Maseru: 6° | 18° Antananarivo: 6° | 21° Lilongwe: 15° | 27° Maputo: 15° | 30° Windhoek: 7° | 24° Cape Town: 12° | 15° Durban: 15° | 24° Johannesburg: 12° | 19° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 14° | 27° Harare: 12° | 24° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.58 | EUR to NAD 20 | CNY to NAD 2.56 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.32 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.28 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.17 | USD to AOA 862 | USD to BWP 13.66 | USD to EGP 48.11 | USD to KES 127.98 | USD to NGN 1504.9 | USD to ZAR 18.62 | USD to ZMW 23.95 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1772.61 Down -1.31% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13245.01 Down -0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27985.89 Up +0.06% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9374.78 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 330.81/OZ DOWN -0.0007 | Copper US$ 4.43/lb UP +0.35% | Zinc US$ 2 935.80/T DOWN -0.18% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.05/BBP DOWN -0.0031 | Platinum US$ 996.59/OZ UP +2.00% Sport results: Rugby World Cup U20: Wales U20 34 vs 41 New Zealand U20 | South Africa U20 57 vs 7 Fiji U20 | Australia U20 35 vs 11 Georgia U20 | Ireland U20 55 vs 15 Italy U20 | England U20 40 vs 21 Argentina U20 | France U20 49 vs 12 Spain U20 Weather: Katima Mulilo: 11° | 30° Rundu: 12° | 32° Eenhana: 12° | 32° Oshakati: 13° | 30° Ruacana: 13° | 30° Tsumeb: 15° | 27° Otjiwarongo: 8° | 27° Omaruru: 9° | 27° Windhoek: 7° | 24° Gobabis: 8° | 27° Henties Bay: 10° | 18° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:44, High tide: 13:07, Low Tide: 18:54, High tide: 01:19 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:42, High tide: 13:05, Low Tide: 18:52, High tide: 01:17 Walvis Bay: 11° | 21° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 06:42, High tide: 13:04, Low Tide: 18:52, High tide: 01:16 Rehoboth: 7° | 25° Mariental: 8° | 23° Keetmanshoop: 8° | 21° Aranos: 8° | 25° Lüderitz: 11° | 20° Ariamsvlei: 9° | 21° Oranjemund: 9° | 18° Luanda: 20° | 22° Gaborone: 10° | 26° Lubumbashi: 11° | 28° Mbabane: 11° | 27° Maseru: 6° | 18° Antananarivo: 6° | 21° Lilongwe: 15° | 27° Maputo: 15° | 30° Windhoek: 7° | 24° Cape Town: 12° | 15° Durban: 15° | 24° Johannesburg: 12° | 19° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 14° | 27° Harare: 12° | 24° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.58 | EUR to NAD 20 | CNY to NAD 2.56 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.32 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.28 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.17 | USD to AOA 862 | USD to BWP 13.66 | USD to EGP 48.11 | USD to KES 127.98 | USD to NGN 1504.9 | USD to ZAR 18.62 | USD to ZMW 23.95 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1772.61 Down -1.31% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13245.01 Down -0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27985.89 Up +0.06% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9374.78 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 330.81/OZ DOWN -0.0007 | Copper US$ 4.43/lb UP +0.35% | Zinc US$ 2 935.80/T DOWN -0.18% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.05/BBP DOWN -0.0031 | Platinum US$ 996.59/OZ UP +2.00%