‘Kaizen’ spirit fuels Gemmies for Varsity Shield showdown with UFH Blues

ANY STUDENT will tell you that when faced with a required reading list for a course, or the requirements of an assignment, the first instinct is to run away - far away.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when facing a challenge that resembles a mountain. And when things get tough – let’s face it, we’re human – we try to find a way to avoid the obstacle in our path and find the easiest route to ease, comfort, a state of rest.

However, in Japan, students follow a revolutionary approach to challenges. It’s called the Kaizen method of study. Kaizen encourages continuous improvement and problem-solving. It involves creating routines and habits, and establishing clear expectations. Students can establish routines and habits to help them overcome laziness and become more tenacious.

Why the cultural lesson?

Simply because it seems like the Sol Plaatje University Gemmies have a good dose of Kaizen in their DNA. This team doesn’t seem to know the meaning of “quit”.

Yes, the team is lying fifth on the FNB Varsity Shield log, and yes, they have suffered three agonisingly narrow defeats in four matches. But it would be worth noting that they also have a healthy clutch of bonus points in their back pocket. The Gemmies have not let themselves down in this competition. They have been showing heart, grit and skill far beyond what a green rookie team would be expected to.

Teams who have faced them have celebrated their wins, knowing that they have dodged a bullet, and teams waiting to face the team from the Diamond City will know by now that there will be no easy points on offer.

Gemmies captain Sello Maketlo and head coach Jonathan Francke, true to the nature of Kaizen, still believe there is plenty to be positive about as the team prepares to take on the challenge that the rest of the competition will bring.

Given the number of games left and where they stand on the log, the skipper sees the Kimberley team as still very much in contention. He feels they've shown they can compete, and that just a few tweaks could unlock their full winning potential.

Maketlo makes it clear that the team’s performances have been good, but admitted that they would need to make a few minor adjustments to pull off another win. According to the captain, adapting to the competition’s physicality is turning out to be the biggest challenge, despite excellent off-season preparation. 

However, now that the team has been forged on the field of conflict, the skipper has expressed his confidence in the team’s potential to succeed.

Though it is true that the emotional toll of the losses has started to show within the squad, with Maketlo confessing that the discouraging defeats have begun to weigh heavily on the team, he also expressed confidence in the senior players and especially the team management’s ability to keep the Gemmies motivated and focused.

After all, coach Francke has experienced rugby and its intensity at an extremely high level and he definitely understands what it will take to get the team through what may seem like a slump.

The team would do well to embrace another Kaizen teaching that suggests, what if every time you struggle, you're not failing, but actually learning what doesn’t work? What if failing is actually making you wiser and more mature?

The philosophy goes: “It’s like forging a sword; each strike makes it stronger, and in the same way, every failure makes you stronger.”

And now Gemmies’ focus turns to the University of Fort Hare (UFH) on Friday. The match kicks off at 5pm at the Davidson Stadium in Alice.

Gemmies will have it in their mind to pick up some much-needed points and momentum against the team lying rock bottom of the log with four losses from their four games.

However, by now they have learned that there is no such thing as an easy game, and they will have prepared themselves for what they know will be a bruising battle against a desperate and dangerous UFH Blues team.