We used to buy our kits at Kantamanto – Jason Dzata talks Ghana rugby progress

Rugby forward Jason Dzata, who is also a development officer at Labone SDA Basic School and Ghana International School, has said that the strides made by the Ghana Rugby Eagles in the Africa Rugby Challenge held in April 2017 at the Accra Sports Stadium was achieved through mental toughness and not juju.

Speaking to the EIB Network-owned newspaper DAILY HERITAGE in Accra, Jason said the achievement was no fluke, in which case no one can attribute it to juju.

He said he and his teammates worked for it and their effort was rewarded with the gold trophy.

In the competition, the Ghana Rugby Eagles beat Benin and Togo for the ultimate.

According to him, rugby is a gentleman’s sport in which every player must be disciplined both on and off the field.

“In rugby, a player has no right to talk back at the referee when a decision goes against him unlike footballers,” he said.

The player, who says he hates football, said he had no regrets choosing rugby over other sporting disciplines in the world.

He said rugby is a sport which builds the individual’s value and character.

“Rugby player does not go about eating and exercising anyhow and at any place. It is very important that as a player, you show respect to your family, team mates and opponents,” he said.

The graduate of King’s University College holds a bachelor degree in Business Administration and is the first born and first son of his mother, Inspector Doris Kumadey.

The development officer began his sporting career as a Javelin and Discus thrower but later switched to rugby.

How he got into rugby

“I used to train at the University of Ghana campus at Legon, Accra. One day a group of young boys from the university rugby team were throwing balls while I sat there watching, asking and wondering what they were doing.

“There was a man sitting by me who answered my questions and he realised that I was interested in the sport. The next day he invited me to join in their training and that was it. That man happened to be Coach Julius Amervor of University of Ghana Rugby Team.

“I made the cut and I joined them to travel to Mali for an international competition. And since then I have not turned my back on the sport,” he recollected.

Growing up

Jason, who hails from Aflao in the Volta Region, grew up at Fadama, a suburb of Accra, under the care of his grandmother. He said his upbringing is a mixed experience of bitterness and sweetness.

He said bitterness in the sense that he lost his father at the age of four and grandma had to resume responsibility of taking care of him.

“Grandma was very strict as she monitors what I do and where I go. My sweet experience is that I had a supportive family who did everything for me.”

He disclosed that, “My mum struggled to take care of me as a single mother but I was fortunate that I did not lack anything in life when I was a child. I am very happy with the type of training my grandmother gave to me. It has helped and shaped me into a better person in my adult life.”

Jason, who comes from a background of a family whose members are interested in security professions, did not follow the footsteps of the family to become either a police officer or a soldier but a business administrator.

“Mum was a hockey player who will take me along to the hockey pitch behind Tema Station Lorry Park to watch her playing.

She was using that as a trick to influence me to play hockey or develop the interest but fate had a different sport for me. I saw hockey as a violent game,” he said.

Mum prefers watching my videos

As other mothers would love to accompany and watch their kids play their matches, it was the other way round for Inspector Doris Kumadey.

He stated that her mother said she could not endure or stand watching the blood, pain and agony Jason would go through when he got himself injured in a match.

“When I am injured on the field of play and she is at the stands, my mum wishes to walk to the field to hold and nurse my injury but she can’t. Because of that, she would prefer to watch my video at home to watching me at the stadium,” he told DAILY HERITAGE.

Jason Dzata Ghana rugby

Jason, who began his rugby career in 2009, said in those years the ball and gear to wear for a particular match were very rare to come by. According to him, one had to rely on a friend outside the country to purchase them for you.

“If you have nobody abroad the only place you can get to buy is Kantamanto market, a secondhand clothing hub. We are now fortunate that we have sporting shops in Accra where the wears are at our disposal.

“Rugby does not pay like football and athletics in this soccer-biased country like Ghana.

“When we hosted the Africa Rugby Challenge and won the gold, we were given GH¢500.00 each as players from the president of the Ghana Rugby Football Union, Mr Herbert Mensah, from his personal pocket.

“Government turned blind eyes on the national team. All funds for the competition, training and camping came from corporate institutions and Mr Mensah. We are hurt to see one person funding a national team,” he said.

His dream

Jason’s dream in the near future is to qualify to the rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 and also beat South Africa, who are Africa’s number one in rugby.

“I aim for the impossible. Looking at the rate we are overcoming the hurdles in record time. The national team sees every match as a battle on its own because we do not live on past glory,” he said.

Jason, who looks up to Sebastien Chabal, a retired French Rugby Union player, desires to play for the Blues at Auckland in New Zealand in future.

Women love rugby

He said the perception out there that rugby is for the elite is wrong.

“Rugby is meant for all ages and women love to watch the men play.

“It is the fact that it is a rowdy game which is played by gentlemen so that attracts the women to watch the game. Women want rowdy men,” he said.