New Ground, New Love

Sixteen-year-old Divan Venter is South Africa’s rising schoolboy rugby prodigy—a former St. Augustine captain, Blue Bulls academy star, and a name already feared on the field. But after his father’s imprisonment and his family’s collapse, Divan is forced to leave Pretoria behind for Bloemfontein, where he moves in with his uncle, former Free State player and Kingsbridge College coach John Brazer. At Kingsbridge, Divan hopes for a fresh start. Instead, he is thrown straight into Under-16 rugby, named captain within weeks, and accused of earning it through family favouritism. No one resents him more than Dumisani, the former captain whose jersey Divan has taken. As rivalry turns vicious, Divan finds comfort in Fikile Dlamini—smart, beautiful, and the only girl who sees past his fame. But Fikile is Dumisani’s ex, and with student journalist Thato exposing every move he makes, Divan’s new beginning may become his biggest battle yet.