Le Fleur lets his game do the talking
The Varsity Cup 2021 tournament has begun and the young Conan Le Fleur seems to be the man to watch in the North-West University (NWU) Eagles team.
Le Fleur (21), a first-year BA Sports Science student, was born and raised in Vredenburg on the West Coast of the Western Cape province. There was a strong rugby culture within his family and his talent took him all the way to Glenwood High School in Durban.
“For me that was the start I needed, coming from a small town to a great rugby high school in 2015 was the big break I needed,” Le Fleur said. It was at this high school where his passion for rugby truly bloomed. He did not just play for the first team but achieved higher accolades too.
Glenwood first XV assistant coach Jose Dos Santos (42) said he had the privilege of working with Le Fleur in high school rugby. However, there is more to him than just the oval ball. “He has a very caring personality, highly respected by his peers and all staff at his time at Glenwood. Besides the incredible player he is, Conan is a family man, that is why I believe that he will always be an incredible asset to any team he plays in,” Dos Santos said.
Getting a chance to be on the Free State Cheetahs rugby team after high school was a remarkable achievement for Le Fleur. Then came 2020, when Covid-19 hit South Africa and things were just not panning out the way he had hoped. Then came an opportunity from the NWU which he did not expect. “The NWU Eagles were interested in me and at the time I needed new opportunities so I decided to go study at Potchefstroom,” Le Fleur said.
A man who knows a lot about Varsity Cup and an old boy at Glenwood High is Wandile Mazibuko (26), who currently plays rugby in France.
Mazibuko reveals how impressed he was to see the young Le Fleur settling in at the university and causing major head waves. “As an old boy of Glenwood I’m happy he is at NWU but more importantly, he is a seriously big talent to watch out for, also beyond the competition,” Mazibuko said.
Captain of the NWU Eagles Lincoln Daniels (23) said he is just impressed by the number of skills set abilities of the centre partner he has in Le Fleur. “He is not just physical, but the speed he has as well as the kicking ability from both feet are massive for any team to have,” said Daniels.
Another senior player, Marco Donges (24), expressed how Le Fleur has become a special player with huge potential. “A young man with a bright future ahead of him. He (Le Fleur) creates opportunities in a game when there seems to not be an opportunity,” Donges said.
With six games already played, Le Fleur will prove to be a real spark for NWU during the rest of the 2021 Varsity Cup tournament.
Le Fleur knows not to get carried away by the media hype. “Even when I was in Bloemfontein, the media have created a lot of hype around me because of my early rugby success. The coaches here at the Eagles have just told me to focus on my game, continue being humble and express myself towards the team,” Le Fleur said.