Ukhanyo schoolboy Eyam Jumba was selected to play the part of Siya Kolisi as a child in a beautifully made two-and-a-half minute mini documentary titled AMG Uncovered: Believing in Dreams.
The film aired on YouTube in English and German this week, and depicts the story of the Springbok rugby captain; how he grew up with nothing and had a brick he used as a toy car, but never gave up on his dream of becoming a professional rugby player.
Like Kolisi, his 12-year-old look-alike says he dreams of being a professional rugby player one day, and when he’s finished playing rugby he’d like to be a firefighter because he wants to “save lives”.
Eyam, who is a keen participant in the MasiSports programme, says he was chosen for the role because, “I look a bit like Siya, and Siya has a scar above his eyebrow just like mine. I got this scar when I was riding in a trolley and someone bashed into me”.
The young rugby fan says meeting Siya was a dream come true. He spent a day filming with the Bok captain at Hamilton’s rugby club, and then another day filming on the streets of Langa. Eyam, who has no contact with his parents and is being raised by his aunt in Masiphumelele, used the money he got paid to buy a pair of new school shoes, and fix his cell phone.
Asked what he would like more than anything if he could have one thing in the world, he smiles shyly and says “a pair of rugby boots”.