Profile

Name: Franco van der Merwe
Date of Birth: 15 March 1983:
Highest honour/achievement: Lions rugby captain and being selected to the Emerging Boks side in 2009.
Favourite food: Beef fillet, T-bone, rump, pizza and pretty much anything my wife makes.
Ambitions: It will always be an honour to represent my country, but at this point I'm focused only on the Lions. It is important that the team does well and anything on top of that will be a great bonus! To become a Springbok and win the Currie Cup would be fantastic.
Sporting heroes: Lance Armstrong, but I also find Victor Vermeulen's story very inspiring.
Hobbies: Going 4x4ing, camping, fly-fishing. Also golf, tennis and squash. Would like to start mountain-biking but it's going to be tough to try fitting it in.

Biography

When you stand 1.98m tall and weigh in at 113kg, there are not too many people you look up to. In fact it's just the opposite. And when people are looking up at you it's easy to be identified as a leader.

So it comes as no surprise to find that big Franco van der Merwe has been made captain of the resurgent Lions rugby franchise in Johannesburg.

The 27-year-old lock-come-flank has been playing rugby since he was about six, and says it was something like "love at first sight".

With a in honours degree in human resources management behind him, he fully understands the importance professional athletes have as role models for society.

"Changing children's lives with sport and having a positive influence in communities is sometimes more rewarding," says Franco. "South Africa showed the world at the 1995 Rugby World Cup that sport can unite a nation."

He's already enjoyed a couple of big playing highlights, including the 2007 Currie Cup final and turning out for the Emerging Boks against the British Lions in 2009, where the youngsters held the international tourists to a 13-13 draw.

Unwinding away from the game and the big city lights usually will involve a bit of time 4x4-ing, while a new, more tranquil, hobby has been turning his hand to a spot of fly-fishing, though he admits "I'm not brilliant, but I am getting there".

And his playing form is getting there too ... and that IS brilliant as he sticks to his personal motto of living life to the fullest.