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Nault, Germishuys Enjoying South Africa Academy

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Nault, Germishuys Enjoying South Africa Academy

Hanco Germishuys got to meet Francois Pienaar (left) and John Smit (right) while in Durban.

Two USA age-grade standouts spent the 4th of July in South Africa as they are part of the Sharks Academy in Durban.

Hanco Germishuys and Brian Nault received scholarships to attend the academy for four weeks, and have been exposed to some new ways of thinkings about rugby, as well as some major rugby luminaries. Germishuys got to meet both South African Rugby World Cup-winning captains in Francois Pienaar (1995), and John Smit (2007).

“It was pretty awesome,” said Germishuys.

Nault was also enthusiastic about his time in Durban, saying “rugby is amazing down here.”

The players both spoke about how much they’ve learned, but it’s interested to see how both loose forwards are learning different things.

“I am learning a lot about speed and agility,” said Germishuys, who was a Nebraska all-state player before making the HS All Americans and USA U20s, “and how to activate those [speed] muscles.”

Meanwhile, for Nault, it’s about playing in tight.

“We worked on lineouts and jumping, and how to do it more effectively,” said the Shelton, Wash. native. “Also we worked on scrumming. As a whole we did some basics in the beginning like catch pass, but now we're going into ruck defense and phase play.”

“We are learning a lot,” added Germishuys, “and having lots of fun too. We have a beach run this morning and then some beach touch rugby.”

Life is rough.