WATCH: Aphiwe Dyantyi shares his Grassroots story

Winner of the 2018 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award, Springbok winger Aphiwe Dyantyi’s journey to the national team is a real-life Grassroots tale.

He started out life in a small village and went on to play for his country. In this exclusive interview, Dyantyi recalls life-changing experiences at school, how he remained true to himself and some of the biggest lessons he’s learned over the years.

“I always felt if I told them I come from a village I wouldn’t fit in. I then told myself I need to be true to myself and who I am.

“It was partly due to experiences at the school that drove me to say, you know what, if I’m going to make a success out of my life, and give myself a chance, I need to start being true to myself. When I started being true to who I am and where I’m from, just owning that, that’s when things just fell together.”

More about Grassroots

Grassroots is a Showmax and 1Magic Original series. In this coming-of-age drama, two boys are forced to overcome a family feud and work together when they’re sent from their rural town in the Eastern Cape to a posh private school in Johannesburg.

Rugby is the ticket to a new life for Asanda and Monwabisi, who’ve both earned scholarships to St Sebastian’s. As they adjust to life in the tough school, they realise they’ll have to put their historic differences aside if they’re going to survive.