His 15 000 followers on Instagram bear testimony to the fact that former Wynberg Boys’ star rugby player Dylan Wannenberg can play the social media game as good as he can pass a ball.
His quirky videos have all gone viral, but his real claim to fame is rooted in reality.
Wannenberg, from Diep River, says live video training with teammates has helped him to stay active during the lockdown.
The Hamilton’s under-20 captain expressed his excitement after contact sport was given the go-ahead by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa to resume fitness training last week, following two months of Covid19 lockdown.
Mthethwa said professional contact sports, such as football and rugby can resume fitness training only, exercising strict regulations laid out in the new level three national lockdown regulations.
Meanwhile, Director-General in the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Vusumuzi Mkhize said all contact sports, including semi-professional sports, are likely to resume play in level one.
The loose-forward, Wannenberg spent five months in the UAE, where he helped the Dubai Hurricanes get crowned the Dubai Club Sevens champs, prior to the lockdown.
Wannenberg said it’s been extremely difficult, mentally and physically during the lockdown, however, live video training and reliving past moments have kept him sane.
“Doing body workouts and watching videos helps a lot to motivate me to always stay on my A-game,” said Wannenberg.
Regarding schoolboy rugby, Wannenberg said he has never lost against archrivals, SACS, throughout his high school career.
And, now that he is back as the under-12 coach, he hopes to stay competitive and connect with his young players when the season continues.
Prior to being involved with the under-12 team, Wannenberg said the team played a season without a win. However, when he joined them last year, they only lost three games.
Wannenberg said his aim is to coach winners both on and off the field.
“They should never give up and it doesn’t matter how difficult things could be you can always overcome it. Just be yourself and have fun,” he said.
Despite his presence on the rugby field, Wanneberg spends most of his spare time pranking people at malls and supermarkets. His videos have earned him over 1.3 million views on Instagram.
“I have done videos for a few company’s already and have been working on something that’s going to be huge,” Wannenberg said.