Sundaymail Editor
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
THABANI ‘TJ’ MAGURANYANGA is in no hurry to make decisions about his future.
Instead, the highly regarded rugby prospect has opted to savour the moment of his long-awaited debut for French club ASM Clermont Auvergne.
He achieved the feat during the Top 14 rugby outfit’s season warm-up 28-16 win over Aurillac last weekend.
It was a debut that was months in the making, as the 18-year-old, who is simply known as ‘TJ’, signed a three-and-a-half-year pre-contract earlier this year only to be stalled by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “Covid-19 was pretty tough to deal with, something that I doubt any athlete in the world could have prepared for.
“As an athlete, it’s normal that there are certain things or distractions that come in your direction and you just have to keep moving forward.
“For myself, I did not have time to sit down and think too much about the virus as I also had school to focus on.
“I was pretty focused on school and had exams coming up,” said Maguranyanga.
The debut did come, with the former Falcon and Westview College student describing it as a surreal experience.
“My debut was pretty exciting, with the joy starting when it was announced that I had made the team.
“It dawned on me that I was going to get the chance to play with some of my childhood heroes and a couple of guys that I have looked up to. “It was my first game in two years due to the pandemic and it was an enjoyable experience.
“It was a very physical game and I would like to think that I had a pretty decent performance. “The last competitive game I played in was in high school, and now playing professional rugby is a very big jump.”
A versatile player, who is comfortable at fullback, wing or centre, Maguranyanga’s arrival on the big stage has been one of the talking points in local rugby.
Although he is still to have more games under his belt at the highest level, some believe he should be called up for the Sables. But the player wants to take his career one step at a time.
“I am not looking too far ahead.
“I know every kid that starts playing rugby has aspirations of becoming one of the greatest and winning multiple championships. “However, my focus is on what is happening now and preparing for our Top 14 season. “We are a club that has won it twice in the last ten years and the goal is to obviously win it again. “That is my focus right now, and not international rugby.
“Being Zimbabwean, it is a goal to, one day, play for my country though,” he said.
Making difficult decisions is one thing Maguranyanga is all too familiar with.
Given his built and athleticism, his father and fitness trainer, Gerald, wanted him to be a track and field athlete, specialising in hurdles.
The teenager is also talented in basketball, football and believes he is a competent boxer and long-distance runner.
In fact, he fancies trying out both boxing and the ironman races when he is done with his rugby career.
“One of the things that a lot of people don’t know about me is that if my dad had it his way, I wouldn’t be a rugby player.
“He wanted me to run track, specifically the 400-metre hurdles, and I definitely I would have been good at it.
“He believes I would have been an Olympian. “I was pretty good at Duathlon and I would want to compete as a triathlete sometime in the future.
“My life goal is to complete an ironman race. “I also believe that if I wasn’t a professional rugby player today, I would definitely be a boxer.”
He boasts of a fine junior sports record that includes accolades such as Junior NBA Africa All-star (2017), Under-16 All-star and MVP with St Stithians Boys College.
TJ is also a former 100m and 200m champion with the school (2018, 2019 and 2020) and also has basketball and athletics honours.
Online Reporter