Vodacom Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier has taken his game to another level in this season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship. And his motivation is not what you think.

It’s easy to believe that a rugby dream begins on the field. Or that it’s only in those boyhood moments of running with a ball, beating players, or even just playing a game of touch in the streets where the dreams of today’s stars were born. But for Embrose Papier, the dream was forged in the vision of a teenager waving goodbye from a bus to his tearful mother.

A young Papier had been at school for only two days in their new hometown of Malmesbury, where his mother moved for work, when they received the message that a school in Pretoria – first Höerskool Die Wilgers and then later Höerskool Garsfontein – wanted to offer Papier a chance to make his rugby dream come true.

 

Waving Goodbye

A day later, a 15-year-old Papier was on a bus waving goodbye to his mother as he left the safety of a West Coast he had known all his life for Pretoria.

“I remember it being very exciting. Sitting on that bus to begin this journey. To me it still feels like yesterday that I was that teenager. But those first few months in Pretoria were tough. I phoned my mom often and told her I wanted to come home. But she just kept telling me to be strong and push through. I think what helped a lot was the people in Pretoria were all so friendly to me. You’re far from your family and everything you know, but in the end it helps if you just work hard and do your best to make friends. It definitely gives you a different kind of mental strength as well,” said Papier.

From there the door was opened to the Vodacom Bulls, and Loftus Versfeld became his new home.

But there is a sense that the soft-spoken Papier not only revels in a challenge, but that he actually needs it. That being taken out of his comfort zone is where Papier knows he needs to be to get better.

 

Back in the Bok conversation

There’s probably no better example of this than the current season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. Papier has had one of those standout seasons that put him back on the Springbok radar as he was invited to attend the first Springbok alignment camp of the year.

And the reason behind him being able to lift his game to another level this season is, once again, not an obvious one.

“My grandfather was a very big rugby supporter. He loved the game and he loved the Stormers. Whenever I’d visit him in Langebaan, he’d always say we need to watch rugby on TV together. Everything in his house was just rugby. And he was also my biggest supporter. Then he passed away last year,” said Papier.

 

A new motivation

“Then I lost my grandmother as well. It was difficult losing them. In 2018 when we played a warm-up game against the Stormers at the Boland Stadium, they both came to watch. I scored a try, and it was special to have them there. So now when I play, I feel like I have something new to play for. I have a new purpose to motivate me in memory of them.”

But Papier has also worked incredibly hard on the technical elements of his game.

“I worked on the details of my position. I’ve watched a lot of what other scrumhalves do. I’ve studied their positioning, their feet placement, how they arrive at the breakdowns, what they’re scanning before they get to the breakdowns, and what they do after they’ve passed that ball.”

Papier has also revelled in having the kind of experience the Vodacom Bulls have in their squad, and learning from those players.

“There are so many players in the team like Johan Goosen and Willie le Roux and others who make a massive difference on the field in how they lead and talk to the team. You just always feel more comfortable when they’re out there with you. As for me, I don’t talk too much. On the field I try and let my actions do the talking, and to let that be the energy I bring.”

 

Keep adding value

Papier has been a key figure of the Vodacom Bulls’ Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign, and his goal is to keep adding value.

“I just want to keep getting game time. There will always be mistakes made, and you try and limit these. But I believe I can get back into the Springbok team as well. I last played for the Springboks in 2018, and to be invited to the alignment camp again is a big honour because there are next-level players there to learn from, and the coaches are also on a different level.”

Papier’s desire shows through in his overall focus.

Outside of rugby, he dabbles in a bit of padel. “It’s good for recovery.”

He’s considering a few business ventures. “I’m thinking about investing in property.”

But there is no doubting where his true passion lies.

“I want to be the best in my position.”