GRADE 10 PRACTICE COMPREHENSION AND VISUAL LITERACY

Text 1 (Source: adapted from Daily Dispatch 02/06/18 and Mail and Guardian 01/06/18)
School of hard knocks shapes Kolisi
(Note: some deliberate errors have been inserted in the text in paragraphs 29 and 30)
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1. Siya Kolisi’s appointment as Springbok captain has nothing to do with race but means everything to it.
2. No one deserves the position more than the Stormers flanker. He has been a barricade in the back
row during troubled days and is always a prudent pick for a consistent presence. At the Western
Cape franchise, his leadership capabilities have already been thoroughly proven for more than a year
now.
3. But, in our beloved, complex South Africa, milestones are never merely an achievement. Kolisi is the
first black Springbok Test captain, something that is important to many people.
4. “I played in an era where it would have only been a dream for a black guy to be captain of the Boks,”
says former Cheetah’s full-back Tsepo Kokoali. “The fact that it’s not a quota call or a transformation
call but actually the guy who’s best for the job, that leaves me with pride.”
5. When it comes to the kind of person Siya Kolisi is, humbleness and generosity are words which crop
up often when people talk in glowing terms about his attributes.
6. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus used them and so did Grey High Rector Chris Erasmus when they joined
the thunderous chorus of approval for the new man in charge.
7. People close to his roots in Zwide, like former Southern Kings chief executive Anele Pamba, also talk
of Kolisi’s impeccable manners and desire to help those less fortunate than himself.
8. When Kolisi was in Port Elizabeth with the Springboks last year for the Test against Argentina, he
took his teammates out for a slap-up tshisa nyama feast in Zwide.
9. The forward also said he gives away all the Test tickets he receives to those less fortunate and would
like to buy everyone a ticket if he could afford it. So, despite all the adulation that goes with being an
international star, Kolisi has not forgotten his humble township beginnings.
10. I once accompanied Kolisi to his former primary school in Zwide when he went to hand out rugby kits
to the pupils. Classrooms were deserted at Emsengeni Primary School when Kolisi, who honed his
skills there as a junior in 2003, made his much-anticipated appearance.
11. “This is where it all started for me,” Kolisi said as he pointed to the bumpy field where he used to
enjoy break-time games with his schoolmates.
12. “We used to play touch rugby with our school shoes on. That was what I looked forward to every day.
13. “In my days when we played we used to swap our jerseys with the next team and they were always
stinky and sweaty. That is what it is like in the townships.
14. “It was then that I decided that if I made it one day I would like to buy my school a set of jerseys. It
makes a big difference for the children and gives them motivation and something to look forward to.”
15. One of the proudest people at the handover was Emsengeni principal Eric Songwiqi, who coached
Kolisi when he was a junior.
16. “I coached Siya when he was in U12 and I could see he had very real promise right from the start.
Siya was always disciplined, well mannered and a good listener.”
17. Kolisi said he owed a lot to Songwiqi who had been one of his early mentors.
18. “Mr Eric has made a huge difference to my life. I was playing for African Bombers and he asked me to
come to Emsengeni. It was here I was selected for the EP U12 trials. It was then that I got a
scholarship to Grey,” Kolisi said.
19. Born to a 16-year-old mother and a father who was in matric in the Port Elizabeth township of Zwide,
Kolisi was raised by his grandmother after his mother, Phakama, died when he was 15.
20. “Times were tough when I was little and often there wasn’t food. I would go to bed hungry,” Kolisi
says.
21. “Sometimes we didn’t have enough money to pay my primary school fees, which were only R50 a
year.”
22. Spotted at an U12 rugby festival by Grey Junior School rugby master, Andrew Hayidakis, Kolisi was
given a scholarship to PE’s elite sporting school.
23. By Grade 11, he was playing for the Grey first XV, but that level of rugby was easy for a youngster
who had been playing township rugby against hardebaarde (older men) for years.

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24. Forbidden from playing club rugby because of his scholarship, Kolisi
continued to sneak out for the odd game because he loved the sport so
much, and because playing with his township mates was fun.

Picture: New Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi with Zane Kirchner before the Rugby
World Cup semifinal in 2015
25. Inevitably, though, he suffered a serious ankle injury in one of the club
games, but fortunately after the Grey rugby season ended. He told his rugby coaches he injured
himself playing a social game of soccer. He’s never confessed it – until now.
26. When Kolisi made his debut for the Springboks against Scotland in 2013, former Southern Kings chief
executive and African Bombers member Pamba gave an interesting insight into the mindset of the
rising star.
27. “Siya did not have things easy when he was growing up on the dusty streets of Zwide,” Pamba said.
28. “Later, when Siya was a boarder at Grey High, he often used to come and stay at my house at
weekends. He also used to play for Bombers during the school holidays. The thing that struck me
about Siya was that he always called me sir, and he still does to this day. He was ahead of his time
and was playing first-team rugby at the age of 16.
29. “It is wonderful that a young man from the streets of Zwide have made it to the top. This is a great day
for township rugby, it will spark renewed interest in rugby among the youth,” Pamba said.
30. Kolisi describes Nelson Mandela Bay as the spiritual home of South African rugby and says he loves
playing in the city. He was assured of a rapturous reception when he runs onto the field for the Boks
to face Australia in Port Elizabeth on September 29.

Text 2 (Source: cartoons from Daily Dispatch 30/05/18 and Daily Maverick 01/06/18):

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Text 3 (Source: advertisement in City Press 03/06/18):

Copy in advertisement:

It takes more than 15 players to

help grow from
GRASSROOTS TO GREATNESS
Eric Songwiqi
School coach of Springbok Siya Kolisi
Achieving greatness takes the help
and unwavering support of others.
That’s why, for over 17 years, FNB
has helped South African rugby grow
from school, right through to university
and ultimately to Springboks, because
with the right help, greatness can be
achieved. FNB. Proud partner of the
Springboks.

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