Former Port Alfred High school scrumhalf, Denilo Jordaan, – whose roots run deep in the Makhanda-Port Alfred region, has confirmed his growing reputation in his chosen sport after gaining selection to the SA U20 training camp.
The camp was hosted in Stellenbosch last month, where head coach Kevin Foote prepared the cream of the crop of U20 players for a two-week tour of Georgia that kicks off this weekend.
“I was really happy to receive the news,” the 19-year-old told Talk of the Town. “Now the hard work starts though because my aim is to get into the team permanently.
“It’s been really been an eye-opening experience so far; just me getting to know the other players and obviously it’s a new experience and I am trying to fit in to the system as well,” he added.
Jordaan moved from Port Alfred High School to Gqeberha’s Pearson High, where he finished matric last year. He said the adjustment from schoolboy rugby to the national set-up had been a huge shift.
“The big difference is how management structures its day … how they stick to the schedule and they make it clear the responsibility is on us to make sure we are always on time.”
His selection is a “big deal” for the talented Jordaan, who has put in the hard yards over the years since his early playing days at Mary Waters Primary in Makhanda, and Port Alfred Primary and High schools.
“I am just going all out and not focusing yet on my chances of becoming a permanent player in the set-up. I am just trusting the process.
Jordaan said management included a slot for leisure time in their schedule but once you were back at training you had to show commitment in doing what was expected of you.
“You can’t slack off when you arrive back from our time off, we must be 100% switched on.”
Of his transition to Pearson, he said, “At Pearson I played against some of the biggest rugby schools in the region, such as Selborne.”
Jordaan credits his father, Alvin Marney, as an important cog in his development as a rugby player.
“He has been amazing … he believes in me probably more than I believe in myself,” said Jordaan. “If I didn’t have my dad by my side I wouldn’t have got this far.”
Jordaan said his on-field strengths are his communication abilities and calmness under pressure. “I am funny too, but I am not funny when I am playing the game.
“The person I look up to is Springbok scrumhalf, Grant Williams, because he and I have the same approach … we are very attacking players.”
Jordaan now based in Durban where he is planning to study communications and currently playing rugby for Durban Varsity College, said he was proud of his roots and acknowledged the coaches in Makhanda and Port Alfred who were instrumental in him getting to this point in his career.
Father, Alvin Marney, a keen sportsman in his day and speaking from Saudi Arabia, said his son’s selection had been a huge moment for both of them.
“All I can say is he takes in constructive criticism very easily. He will go always go back and work on what he is told. So he is a very good listener. And he is a very disciplined individual. He is generally quiet and was an easy child to raise,” said Marney.
Jordaan has an eye on being selected to the Junior Springbok team that will play in the U20 Rugby Championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha in May – against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, February 12, 2026. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
