THABANI Maguranyanga’s stock as a budding rugby player continues to rise after he started his first match for his French club Clermont yesterday.
Maguranyanga played on left-wing in his side’s 28-16 win over Aurillac in a warm-up match just before the beginning of the French Top 14 next month.
TJ, as he is affectionately known, is the son of former Warriors fitness trainer Gerald Maguranyanga.
Some may say it’s still preseason, but TJ’s meteoric rise indicates how fast he is learning and suiting the kind of play of his new team.
Clermont were quarter-finalists last season in the French Top 14, and they eventually finished fifth.
He hopes to impress his coaches and play their opening fixture of the season on September 5 against Lyon.
Nyasha Muchochomi, a representative of TJ’s management team, Kyros Sports, was elated with the teenager’s progress in his short time at Clermont.
“It’s quite impressive that he has managed to play for the senior team before playing for the Under-20 side. But to some extend, before going to France, they had always predicted that with what they had seen on video and all, that there was a high chance that if he were what they thought he would be, he would quickly graduate to the senior team,” Muchochomi told EnterSportNews.
“I think if he plays the first team now, there is a clause that wouldn’t change much about his existing contract with the club.”
Muchochomi has cited TJ’s work ethic as the most superior quality, making him the player he is today.
“TJ’s work ethic is outstanding. Even when he was here during the lockdown, he worked hard on his fitness and all that,” he said.
“When he arrived at the club and did tests on fitness and strength, they were quite blown away for a person who had limited resources during the lockdown, without access to the gym and all that. So his work ethic is one those that are at the club have been impressed with. He catches things quickly, quite an intelligent boy, he catches on to systems quite well, and therefore he managed to fit in quickly.”
Clermont has had some injuries to some backline players, and TJ being versatile, he can play wing, centre, or fullback helps him greatly in filling gaps that the team has.
However, Muchochomi believes TJ must make the most of his chances now as things can change once the senior internationals are back.
“I think they will be some changes when players who were playing for Japan and France national teams return to full training and club commitments,” he added.
TJ gave a good account of himself in the 55 minutes that he played for his club in his first match before he was subbed off.
“To get a start is a huge thing. It was good to get a young player to play that many minutes in his first game. The prospects are looking good for him. We are happy for him,” Muchochomi said.
“When I spoke to him, he is grateful for all the support from his coaches locally from when he was in Prep school here and those that used to help him with training during the holidays. He is just trying to focus on the job at hand so that the people who have helped him this far can be proud of him. He knows he still has got a lot of work to do, so he is not getting too ahead of himself.”
Early this year, the former Lions Under-18 player signed a three-year junior (U-20) contract with the French top-flight side, Clermont.
