Sub-100kgloose forward JC Pretorius punches well above his weight in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, right on brand for the overachieving Emirates Lions.

Pretoriusproduced a player-of-the-match performance against Cardiff to help keep theEmirates Lions on the trail of a first Vodacom URC play-off appearance.

Theopenside flanker terrorised Cardiff at the breakdowns, winning multipleturnovers and turnover penalties, while carrying the ball strongly to get hisside across the gainline.

Theresult saw the Emirates Lions keep alive their dreams of qualifying for theknockout rounds, with just four points separating them from eighth-placedBenetton with two rounds to play.

Atjust 1.8m and 92kg, Pretorius is smaller than most midfielders in the league,but the former Springbok Sevens star is used to proving his doubters wrong.

Labelledat school as being too small to make it in the professional ranks, and havingto fight injuries every step of the way, Pretorius has had to scrap to reachthis point of his professional career.

Pretoriushas found a home at Emirates Airline Park, with a team that is no stranger tobacking the underdog.

TheEmirates Lions unearthed a future two-time world champion in Kwagga Smith,among a host of other off-the-radar players who starred under former coachJohan Ackermann.

Smithfirst caught the eye as a relentless competitor for the Blitzboks and Pretoriushas walked the same path, starring on the Sevens Series circuit.

“Weare from the same school, play the same position and I always tried to play theway he does, by bringing a huge work rate to the game,” Pretorius says aboutthe comparisons to Smith.

“Thereis nothing wrong with trying to emulate him but I can never be Kwagga, only JC.I have always been a hard worker and I hope to be judged on that work rate andenergy.”

Bornand raised in the mining town of Secunda in the Mpumalanga province, 131km fromhis current home turf at Emirates Airline Park, young Pretorius’ dreams ofbeing a rugby player took flight at HTS Middelburg, the most famed rugby schoolin the province.

Incidentally,this also happened to be Smith’s alma mater, but like Smith, Pretorius was toldthat he would be too small to break into the professional fifteens game.

Justas it seemed that prediction would come true for Pretorius, who had no offersfrom any of the provincial unions, a bolt from the blue came with an invite tothe Springbok Sevens Academy.

Threeyears after joining the academy, Pretorius made his Series debut in February2019, just four days after his 21st birthday.

“Makingthat transition wasn’t easy and it got even tougher when I started practisingwith the Blitzboks,” Pretorius revealed.

“Fromthe day I arrived in Stellenbosch in 2016, I puked (vomited) every Monday foryears until my body was finally used to the drills. It didn’t matter if Itrained with the academy, the Blitzboks or if they trained together, I was sickevery Monday. They used to leave two doors open in case someone had to run outwhen he felt sick.”

However,Pretorius fought through his early struggles and became a first-team regularduring Neil Powell’s final few years with the Blitzboks, earning the 2022Springbok Sevens Player of the Year award along the way.

Justmonths after Powell left the Blitzboks to take charge of the HollywoodbetsSharks, Pretorius followed his mentor into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, signing with the Emirates Lions in December 2022.

Pretoriusonce again had to be patient for his opportunity, making his tournament debutagainst Benetton in Round 3.

“Someguys do the running and sidestepping, I do more of the stealing. Wherever I canmake a contribution to the team and lift the energy, I will do that,” Pretoriussaid.

“Onething that I’ve learned since I arrived from the sevens team. I was playing alot in the sevens team, but when I got here, I only played here and there. Ihad to be patient and keep working hard.

“It’sone of those environments where you can’t get comfortable in your position.Week in and week out, you have to give your best for the team.”

Nowwith 19 appearances for the Emirates Lions under his belt, Pretorius has foundhis place with the Pride and is determined to be part of a historic run intothe Vodacom URC play-offs.