MARK ETHERIDGE: ‘Pocket Hercules’ pulls much more than his weight

There are few better tales than that of the underdog coming out tops, something like the biblical story of David toppling Goliath.

So too, in sport.

Take 13-year-old Denru Venter.

Born 11 weeks premature in Rustenburg, North West, in October 2011, the little guy weighed just 980g — that’s less than a third of your average newborn SA boy (3.5kg).

For more perspective, he was just a tad longer than his father’s wristwatch and strap and there’s even a photo to prove it.

He’s still a tiny chap — now tipping the scales at just 29.8kg.

But dynamite definitely comes in small packages and guess what? Denru Venter, now in grade 8, will be part of the Oakdale Agricultural College team taking part in the SA junior tug-of-war championships in his now-home town of Mossel Bay later in March.

Talk about punching above one’s weight!

Explains proud mom Dené du Plooy: “When I was pregnant I didn’t realise it at the time but I was losing tiny amounts of amniotic fluid. Our wedding was booked well before Denru was to be born, but a week before the wedding we realised things were moving fast and thankfully our doctor was at the wedding just in case.”

Shortly afterwards Dené had to undergo an emergency caesarean procedure as bacteria had found their way into her amniotic fluid. 

“Denru was on oxygen for two days and then into an incubator and prenatal ICU unit for about eight weeks, and when he finally came home he weighed just 1.8kg.

“He was still a pretty strong baby. My parents-in-law had a game farm and he could identify many different game species way before he could count to 10.”

But there was another setback for Denru when, just before he turned four, his paediatrician detected a strange noise in his heart — one of the arteries in his heart hadn’t closed properly after birth so he had to have surgery at Unitas Hospital in Pretoria.

Toughie that he is, within a week he was back on the farm fishing, with a shoulder full of post-operation stitches.

That gives you some idea of just what a toughie this kid is.

Dené and Denru’s dad later divorced and she moved to Mossel Bay in the southern Cape about six years ago, where she now runs a real estate business.

Young Denru went to Park Primary School and was all set to attend Mossel Bay High School.

“But everyone was talking about Oakdale and we went to the ‘open day’ and Denru just loved it. We went for an admission interview and that was probably the first time I’d seen him even remotely stressed,” jokes Dené.

“We got an email saying he hadn’t been accepted and to be honest I think I knew in my heart of hearts that he wasn’t the strongest of candidates. He doesn’t get the 80%/90% school marks and so on, and wasn’t the best in sports. He’s just a normal little kid.”

Then fate intervened. While he and his mother were driving at the airport to watch another one of Dené’s three sons take part in a sports week in North West, a call came through saying that a spot had opened up.

“I held the phone close to him asking him if he wanted that place — he couldn’t even speak, he just nodded, with tears streaming down his face.”

Denru now boards at the school and is fully part of the all-powerful tug-of-war community at Oakdale.

“I didn’t have a clue about tug-of-war,” admits Du Plooy. “I went to the Eden Open last week and now have a bit more of an idea! For his first competition he had to use borrowed boots while I ordered from a supplier in Worcester.”

He also had to have special everyday school kit made because of his small stature!

Denru and Dené’s story is a powerful one that truly tugs at the heart strings.

Social-media savvy for her business, she recently shared, in her own words, a brief recount of Denru’s journey and it certainly hit the spot with more than 300,000 views.

“I’ve had so much positive feedback ... one lady from a neighbouring town called to say that she had a brand new pair of size four Bronx shoes just sitting in her cupboard and was donating them to Denru.

“The feedback from far and wide has been nothing short of phenomenal ... there are so many good people out there. I have learnt to be eternally grateful and just to say ‘thank you’.”

Taking up the slack is Oakdale tug-of-war coach Piet Lourens: “I saw this little guy helping at our athletics day ... he was running around handing times over to officials.

“I often like these little guys who don’t seem to fit in at other sports ... but in tug-of-war there is always space for all sizes”

Lourens explains the logic. “Little guys are normally strong for their weight, so someone like Denru is fully worth his 29kg, whereas a bigger guy of 70kg at that age isn’t often worth his weight. It’s all about power-to-weight ratio.”

And Lourens is a man who thinks out of the box. “Doing tug-of-war gives him self-confidence and hope, and being part of the school ... he gave me a funny look when I first invited him to practice and he didn’t pitch the first day but then I sent some of the matrics to fetch him.

“He’s such a little guy but with a really strong personality. I’ll put him in a few teams — at SA juniors he’ll be in the 420/440kg teams and he can go far.”

Lourens also looks beyond sport. “The way I look at it school sport is part of education. Sometimes they lose the plot at the big schools where it’s all about being in the rugby or cricket A teams. In tug-of-war there’s place for everyone.”

And lastly the star of the story adds his input. Says Denru: “I wanted to come here mainly because I grew up on a farm which was such a lovely experience.

“I hadn’t really heard of Oakdale but when we went to open day it made me think of the farm. The other pupils here are all very friendly, well-mannered and helpful.”

And his thoughts on his new sporting stature. “I always thought I was too small for tug-of-war but I started it and it was such fun ... my next lightest teammate now is 43kg and the heaviest is 72kg.”

And he leaves the rock of his life to last.

“My mom has always supported me with everything I’ve done and always believed in me. She’s always been there for me in the past and I know she’ll be there in times to come as well!”

From the smallest acorn often come the biggest oaks — Denru Venter is living proof.