When Blitzbok star Rosko Specman began his high school rugby career at Grahamstown's Mary Waters, few would have thought that his talent could ever lead him to the Olympic games.
When Blitzbok star Rosko Specman began his high school rugby career at Grahamstown's Mary Waters, few would have thought that his talent could ever lead him to the Olympic games.
Now, after having been included in South Africa's training squad for the sevens tournament in Rio (9-11 August), he stands just one step away from achieving a seemingly impossible dream.
Despite having moved on after earning a place at Kingswood for his 2008 post-matric year, Specman still holds fond memories of his time at Mary Waters – and credits the public school instilling a ferocious work ethic in him.
"Having started my rugby career playing at high school level at Mary Waters, I've seen how being exposed to very different facilities can impact your game," he said.
"However, starting from a position where I wasn't as privileged as others [and didn't] have the best sporting facilities only made me more determined to work on my talents and skills."
Specman has been in impressive form since being brought back into the fold for the Cape Town Sevens (12-13 December). His highest point came after the Wellington Sevens (30-31 January), when he was named player of the tournament. His selection in the Rio training squad thus came as no surprise to most.
Specman is joined in the Blitzbok training squad by another former Grahamstown school boy in old Andrean Ryan Kankowski.
Like Grocott's Mail Sport on Facebook and follow @GrocottsSport on Twitter to follow the two former Grahamstown schoolboys' progress and to find out whether or not they make the cut when the final squad is announced next month.
