From UWC to the Blitzboks, Tristan Leyds' FNB Varsity Cup roots shine through

Tristan Leyds recently flew back to South Africa from New York alongside the Blitzboks with after winning Sevens World Series with the national side.

Only a few years ago Leyds – younger brother of Springbok Dillyn Leyds – was running out for FNB UWC at the FNB Varsity Cup and Varsity shield at a time when he was thinking of quitting the sport.

“UWC gave me an opportunity when I came to the crossroads of if I was still going to carry on playing rugby,” Leyds explained.

“Just before I joined UWC I had a big injury to my eye socket - with the face, anything can happen in breakdowns and things like that.”

A phone call to the late Chester Williams who was head coach of UWC’s first rugby side later and Leyds was convinced to continue following his dream of playing professional rugby.

“I gave Chester Williams a call back then and he was all good with it. They helped me flourish.”

Leyd’s time at UWC can be characterised by him getting the ball at fullback, from either a counterattack or a planned move to get him into space, and creating something out of nothing.

“14 out of the players had a game plan, but [Williams] would come to me before the game and just say, ‘you do what you do, the guys will fill in around you’,” Leyds explained.

Leyds didn’t know it at the time, but he was playing with a world-cup winning Springbok wing beside him.

“Those games we had a massive team,” he said. “We had the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse in that team as well. Our back three was probably the most lethal in that varsity shield. We were also the first team to qualify for Varsity Cup.

“Just the freedom we had that we got given to play in those games was amazing. We had guys in our back line that served either for Boland or [Western] Province in their respective years before joining the Varsity Shield team which just helped us flourish.”

“I think we were an overqualified team for the varsity shield and then when we managed to go to Varsity Cup, we were a bit underqualified.”

Leyds also recognised that putting in good performances at Varsity rugby gave him and others a good opportunity to be recognised at professional level.

“With it being early in the year, the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield helps guys to flourish,” he said.

“Guys getting their pink shorts here and there, players to look out for. I think it builds morale and confidence for them to take whatever rugby journey they’re following into after the Varsity Cup.

“It gives them confidence and more game time in certain people, just to build on that.”

Leyds was one of those who had a junior contract with Western Province at the stage and later stepped into a senior Western Province contract, following in the footsteps of his brother who played in the same jersey

“For me, I still had the under-21 Currie Cup after that, so I could just take my energy from that Varsity Shield and Varsity Cup into there.”

While it’s a family affair for the Leyds’, they have another family member currently rocking it out in Varsity Rugby.

Sol Plaatjie University flyer Jaiden Faviers is the cousin of Dillyn and Tristan.

“A couple of weeks ago, just before we left, I managed to watch my cousin as well play for Sol Plaatjie and he’s tearing it up there.

“They played UWC a couple of weeks ago and he managed to have a good outing there. Wishing him all the best as well. Hopefully he can do the same and make that step up.”

Tristan has laid the platform for Faviers the same way Dillyn had laid the platform for him.