Leinster vs Ulster

Zane Kirchner has never been
much of a ‘talker.’ Until now.
The ex-Leinster and Springbok player is a
self-admitted “loner,” a man happier in his
own space than anyone else’s.
When you delve into his background, this
makes perfect sense. He is the exception,
escaping the generational poverty and
violence that has imprisoned thousands
in his town.
“I come from nothing. I come from the
ghetto,” he says, from his home in Blanco,
at the foot of the Outeniqua mountains on
the Western Cape.
“When you come from very little, you try
to hold onto whatever it is you have as
best you can.”
The psychological battle for territory is
rooted in the three sections Zane grew
up around, the Valley, the Pits and the
Skeem, providing three natural rivals to
fuel a gangster mentality, based around
drugs, alcohol abuse and gender-based
violence.
“It is just the mentality of our people,
growing up over the years. They fight for
a piece of land or a territory that was
never even theirs.
At Leinster, I saw people
with passion, who cared about
other people, who wanted to
make a difference.
“As a child, you deal with a lot of things
that are tough on the eyes. You see a lot
of bad things happen every day. This
turns people towards that life, not because
they are bad people, but because they
cannot see any other alternative.”
It could so easily have been Zane’s life
too were it not for a steely mentality and
the escape route rugby provided for him.
“Sport was my way of getting out. It
granted me a way of exploring life and
making me a better man,” he stresses.
“I always had the feeling that I wanted to
be different. But, there was no role model
for me, so I had to do it by myself.
“At 16, training was my out. When others
took booze and drugs, I went training.
Even if I went out, I had to be running on
the road by 5 or 6 the next morning.
“What I saw granted me more energy
and drove me to overcome the life I was
born into. My difference came through
rugby.
“What rugby has done for me is
something for which I will be forever
grateful.”
In 2002, at 17, Zane was invited to play
rugby for the Griquas on the Northern
Cape by his coach Abrie Minnie where
outworking more talented players became
his mission.
It was the first time he had left his parents’
home. For months, Zane cried himself to
sleep. It almost got too much to take.
One night, he made a call home only to
be told: ‘there is nothing for you here.
There is nothing to come back to.’
He resolved to pursue a better life. Work
ethic has been his point of difference.
It was the basis for five years of senior
rugby at Griquas (2003-2007), for six
years at the Blue Bulls (2008-2013) and,
ultimately, for 31 Springbok caps.
“The harder I worked the further I could
get away from Blanco in my head. You
want to stay away from that environment.”
In 2013, Zane made another difficult
decision, walking away from the Blue
Bulls to join the Leinster Blues.
www.leinsterrugby.ie | 63