Then, on the dusty streets of Thabong — a hamlet in the South African town of Welkom which, aptly for his rich childhood, means “place of happiness” — his grandmother was tasked with halting him in full stride. A few years later, his father Barry would use a bat on a board to emulate the sound of a starting gun as the future rugby star tried to emulate his unlikely idol — American sprinter Marion Jones — in the local playing fields.