It’s something Willie le Roux has done since he was seven years old while running like a genius with a rugby ball. And it’s something he’ll do again at Loftus Versfeld this Father’s Day weekend as one of the finest players of his generation looking to achieve yet another significant milestone in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

 

When he runs out against Irish giants Leinster in the Vodacom Bulls’ semi-final on Saturday, Le Roux will instinctively look to the side of the field as he’s done since he was seven years old for the one man who’s always been there for him.

 

“Some of my earliest memories are of when I was seven years old and playing rugby, and my dad standing next to the field watching me and supporting me,” says the decorated Springbok whose talent has taken him around the world and onto the biggest stages and fields thousands of kilometres away from the one where it all started at Lochnerhof Primary School in Strand in the Western Cape.

 

And it was alongside this rugby field, in a suburb where who you are matters far more than what you are, where Le Roux formed an unshakeable bond with his father.

 

“He was always there, whether I played a game 10 minutes from home or an hour from home or three hours from home. Even at that young age he was there and never missed any of my rugby games at school. To just always see him next to the field was so special for me.”

 

It doesn’t matter now whether his dad is physically there or not, because Le Roux still has that same drive that his father’s support has inspired in him.

 

“I always wanted to show him that I can play this game and I can be good at it, and that he can be proud of me. It always motivated me. But my dad has also always kept me grounded. If I scored three tries in a game but I knocked on a high ball, he would remind me about the knock. That always helped me to stay humble and try to keep improving. There’s no such thing as a perfect game. You’ll always make mistakes. But he had a way of trying to make me better every day and not focusing just on the good things but also improving your weak areas.”

 

It would be perfect for Le Roux to be able to pick up the phone this Sunday and wish his dad Happy Father’s Day with the news that the Vodacom Bulls have beaten Leinster to qualify for the Grand Final of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

 

“He’s a special human being and I’m glad to still have him around. He’s always been there for me. Whenever I message or call him, he’ll always have the right advice for me. He’s always there for a braai or a drink with me. He just always says yes. I’ve never heard him say no.”

 

On the front gate at Lochnerhof Primary School there is a sign saying, “Great heroes have already walked out of here. What will be the footsteps you leave behind?”

 

Le Roux left that small little rugby field in Strand to become one of the greatest of Springbok heroes.

 

And in every one of the footsteps he’s taken along the way, his dad has walked right behind him.