They say you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, but for recently recruited Sanlam Boland Kavaliers outside back Jade Stighling, there is an exception to this rule.
Stighling has been in pre-season camp with his new Kavaliers teammates and says he feels like he is learning more about the game from young wingers Xavier Mitchell and Jaden Bantom.
The 32-year-old Stighling joins Boland after a two-year stint playing club rugby in the United States of America for Major League Rugby outfit the Seattle Seawolves.
He joined the Seawolves in November 2023 after making the move from the Airlink Pumas, whom he joined during the 2021 season after growing up and playing most of his rugby as a junior and senior for the Vodacom Bulls in the Carling Currie Cup as well as Super Rugby.
Stighling says he decided to join the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers to be closer to family, but more importantly, help his new team reach new heights, following Boland’s qualification for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division and also reaching the semifinals of the 2025 edition.
With a Bachelor of Science in Informatics from the University of South Africa (UNISA), Stighling is also looking to put his skills in this area to work, especially seeing how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a norm in the workplace during his two-year stint in the US.
“With South Africa still being a developing nation when it comes to using AI, it was interesting to see how things are done in America. I would like to use what I have learned over there and put it to use here locally,” Stighling says.
Meanwhile, when it comes to his current career, the former Puma is also taking a lot of learnings on board, especially from his fellow outside backs, who he says are keeping him on his toes.
“Jayden Bantom and Xavier Mitchell are very good athletes and are keeping me on my toes constantly,” he professed.
“I pride myself on being a great athlete, but seeing what a guy like Xavier can do on a rugby field astounds me and makes me feel as if I am learning something new. Sometimes it feels as if these younger guys are teaching me things about the game.”
Stighling has, however, never been a stranger to working hard when it comes to his rugby career, and can be considered a late bloomer when it comes to rugby.
“I wanted to be a soccer player,” he reveals. “As a kid in primary school, I really wanted to pursue a career in football.
“I was a big athletics guy, and a coach at Hans Moore High School in Benoni saw that I was quite quick and basically tricked me into playing rugby.
“I remember he offered me a pair of boots just to come for a trial with the team. I thought I would do the trial and then use those boots to go and play soccer. But, after that first game, my mind was changed, and I ended up sticking to rugby.”
Moving to Wellington has also felt like a reunion to Stighling, with so many of the former Bulls and Pumas players part of the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers’ team.
“Seeing coach Pote [Human] as well as Mossie [Juan Mostert] among others, here and Chris Smit in the short time that I have been here, has been so surreal.
“I feel like the culture and energy that coach Hawies [Fourie] and coach Pote are developing is exciting, and it has made me slot into the environment with ease, especially with me knowing most of the players, that I have played with before at the Bulls as well as the Pumas.”