Cricket was Boeta Chamberlain’s first love, but rugby was simply the sport that refused to let him go once it got hold of him at six years old.
From the age of three, Chamberlain had a bat in his hands, switching loyalties with the seasons as he grew up – rugby in winter, cricket in summer, never quite able to choose between the two. Even at school, his heart swung depending on the time of year.
That balancing act came to a sudden halt in his matric year, when a serious knee injury in Johannesburg threatened to close the door on rugby altogether.
“If I wasn’t going to play rugby, then that was just how it was. I didn’t really think I’d have options when I got the injury,” Chamberlain admitted to Netwerk24.
Then came the moment that changed everything. A Sharks representative asked to speak to his father after the match. Fifteen minutes later, Chamberlain’s rugby future was back on track.
“About 15 minutes later my dad came back, gave me a hug and said I’d been offered a contract.”
WATCH: Newcastle tap into Saffa network
Fast forward to 2025, and Chamberlain is now plying his trade with the Newcastle, featuring for the Red Bulls in the EPCR Challenge Cup and living a rugby career he once thought had slipped away.
Along the way, the former Sharks and Bulls pivot says he’s drawn inspiration from some of the game’s finest minds. Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers remains his first rugby hero, while his development at flyhalf saw him study the craft of Jonny Wilkinson, Dan Carter and Danny Cipriani.
“I’ve met Jean once or twice, but I don’t know if he knows he was my role model,” he said, laughing.
MORE: Renzo roars for Lions in Challenge Cup
As for the name Boeta, it stuck early. A childhood nickname born from family excitement and only replaced when discipline was required.
“I’ve always been called Boeta,” he said. “Except when I got up to nonsense. Then it was Henry Chamberlain, and I knew there was big trouble.”
Photo: George Wood/Getty Images
The post Boeta’s rise from budding cricketer to rugby general appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.