Abduragmaan (Durrie) Latief, prop of Boland Cavaliers, from Pelican Park, New Horizon, developed a passion for rugby through his cousin Waseem Galant, who played for Primrose Rugby Football Club in Kenilworth from a young age.
“At family gatherings, we would play touch rugby in the road as there would always be a rugby ball involved. He tried getting me to join the club when I was younger, but my mother was never keen on the idea, and that is why I only started playing at the age of 18 years. My inclusion in the Boland Cavaliers setup was also through my friend Wilfred Saunderson, who introduced me to Christopher van Wyk, who at the time was doing game analysis for Saldanha Bay Rugby Club. He recruited me to join the club,” Latief says.
His inclusion in the Boland team means a lot to the community where he comes from.
“Being a Boland player speaks volumes as it creates a sense of hope for the less fortunate and it brings more meaning to the saying: there’s no such thing as you can’t make it. It shows your circumstances shouldn’t determine what you cannot be and what you cannot achieve. It’s just a matter of small changes and creating opportunities for yourself and when the opportunity arises, you should be ready.
“My first experience in a provincial team was a big step up. To move from the club level to the provincial level, the intensity of training the contact point, your time to recover, and then only you realise how important it is to be well conditioned. On top of the conditioning, you need to be top fit to fit into the provincial system and for you to meet the requirements to your position, in my case as a prop,” he says.
As a youngster growing up in Pelican Park, he never had a rugby hero as he learnt late about rugby.
“I looked up to a lot since I started growing a passion for the game and my hero is Nizaam Carr, the first Muslim Springbok, who comes from the same club, Primroses, where I started my rugby career. My short-term goal is to have a good season in the SA Cup and First Division Currie Cup with Boland. My long-term goal is to play top-level rugby and to play abroad. I would also like to do my coaching levels. My ultimate goal at Boland is to become back-to-back First Division Currie Cup champions and to play Premier Division Currie Cup, Boland won the First Division Currie Cup last year against the Valke and we have to defend our title this year,” Latief says.
His message to young aspiring rugby players in his community is to not allow anyone to tell you, that you are not good enough. They must be brave and bold and not limit themselves.
“Push yourself in the red and use every opportunity as if it’s your last opportunity, and don’t forget to give thanks to the Almighty. Still on my bucket list is to play rugby abroad. When I am not training or playing I like to be outdoors in nature, by going hiking and spending time in the mountains. Something the Boland fans are not familiar with about me is that I can cut hair and cook, as I’ve done hospitality,” Latief smiles.
He met the All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams once, only for a pic when he was in Cape Town, but would like to have a meaningful chat with him to get some good advice to better myself as a player and more important as a person.
