Abstract
M.Phil.
In the South African context, sport plays an important role in uniting and uplifting the morale of people. Francois Pienaar, leading the Springboks (Amabokoboko) to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park, filled many young talented South-African rugby players with the hope of succeeding at international level. As public figure, the elite rugby player requires many different skills to equip him for circumstances with which he might be confronted in lieu of his professional commitments. The professional sports person has become a commodity product through whom sponsors market their products. The dilemma professional rugby players encounter is that not only do they participate in the sport, but provide an input towards sport production. This involvement in the sports industry becomes important because of the image, which needs to be portrayed by all role players. Therefore it is necessary that research be done to offer guidelines for the holistic development of players. Addressing this problem South African role players need to facilitate sport development, which enables multi-dimensional and optimal personal- and career development of the elite rugby player.