François du Toit – Grey College Captain

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:44

François (Franna) du Toit has had the privilege of captaining Grey College during the second half of their season. He has led them to victories over Grey High and Pretoria Boys High and this week leads his team and his school down to Durban for a huge game against high-riding Glenwood.

Franna hails from Vryburg in the North-West and has been at Grey since Grade 8. His older brother was also at Grey and the opportunities offered by the school, to achieve at academics and sport are what lured him there too. Franna has excelled at Grey and apart from his rugby achievements he is also a school and hostel prefect.

Franna is captaining the Grey team in the absence of inspirational No. 8 Adriaan Theisinger, who was injured at Craven Week. Franna has played centre and fullback most of his life and last year played wing for the very successful Grey 1st XV. The 2007 Grey 1st XV is regarded by many as the best Grey team in their 153 year history and Franna says he gained valuable experience last year playing outside such talented players as the Ebersohn twins. Franna played wing for the Free State Academy team last year and says that he really enjoyed the opportunity to play with and against boys from other schools at Academy and Craven Week.

It was only towards the end of last year that Franna moved to flyhalf and that is what made his selection for the SA Schools team this year such a surprise. Having not played flyhalf for long Franna says that tactical kicking is not one of his strengths. He loves to run with the ball and vary his play like his hero Dan Carter.

At 1.84 metres and 84kg Franna is comfortable playing close to the advantage line as well as lying deep to bring his outside backs into play. Anyone that saw him at Craven Week will attest to the fact that he is virtually the complete player. Although he never expected it, making SA Schools was a dream come true for Franna and he is looking forward to their game in Durban on 23 August.

Grey have gone thirteen games unbeaten so far this year but on Saturday they face one of their sterner tests. Having seen off Grey High two weeks ago in Port Elizabeth the Grey College 1st XV will be back on the bus to Durban on Friday morning. Grey have not done any specific homework on Glenwood but Franna says he has heard that they are a good team.

Franna says that the 2008 Grey 1st XV have been successful because like all Grey teams they play for each other and as a team. They have talented players but the team always more important than the individual. Like Glenwood Grey run a professional set up. Although they don't train before school every morning like Glenwood they do train four afternoons a week. On Mondays they do recovery and gym work, and spend Tuesdays to Thursdays on the field with their coaches. Dries van der Wal is the head coach and forwards specialist. He is assisted by a backline coach, a skills and fitness coach and a biokineticist/physio.

Before the December holidays Grey select a training group who are tested and given programmes for the holidays. Training for the rugby season begins in earnest in January. Grey boys are expected to do a summer and winter sport so very few are able to focus entirely on rugby.

Franna has been offered a contract by the Free State rugby union and he will play rugby for the University next year, while studying accounting.

Grey have one game left after Glenwood, when they host Paul Roos next week. Although Paul Roos have struggled a bit this year Franna is wary of the threat they pose. For now though he is looking no further than Durban this Saturday.