Player Profile: Francois Prins (Boland Landbou)
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – From the play Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare.
Boland Landbou’s star captain and batting all-rounder, Francois Prins, was only 14 years of age when fate set him on the path to a great school’s cricket career.
The Farmers’ Head Coach, Handró le Roux, recalled: “In September of 2022, we had an injury occur only a few days before our first pre-season fixture. We had to select Francois despite not having seen him play much. It was a big jump, and he ended up making a duck on his debut.
“Obviously, I was left unimpressed. However, we kept him in the first team setup because I had a gut feeling that he was a natural-born cricketer; after all, it was the only thing that he talked about.”
Based on first impressions, one might not have expected Prins to become the player that he is now. He has come a long way since his debut and now boasts 124 caps for the Paarl school, making him the most capped player in the school’s history.
In December, he scored a century for the Boland u19 team at the 2025 Khaya Majola Week in Bloemfontein, and went on to be included in the SA Schools side.
Francois, or “Skollie”, to his peers and teachers, found his first game of cricket to be similar to his debut innings for the 1st XI.
“My earliest memory of cricket was from when I was about eight years old. It all started when I was selected for the u11 team at my primary school, where I played my first hard-ball match.
“Something I will never forget is that I was dismissed without scoring a run. Through the tears and disappointment, I realised that this is what I wanted to pursue one day. That is where my passion and love for the game started.”
Prins is intensely passionate – a characteristic synonymous with strong leaders.
Coach Le Roux shared how the captain’s passion influences those who play under his guidance: “He is a great team player, making him well-liked by his teammates and peers in school.
“He brings a lot of discipline and balance to our setup, as well as the change room, classroom and boarding house. He is always keen for a good laugh, but knows where to draw the line between having fun and getting the serious work done.”
When asked about his plans over the next five years, Prins made it clear to SuperSport Schools Plus that his studies and cricket are his main ambitions.
“Right now, my main goal is to finish my matric year, and then hopefully have the marks required to enter university.
“In terms of cricket, I hope to start reaching into the professional setup. I would love to make a living out of playing cricket.”
His story is a lesson about not being afraid of failure. The beginning of a story usually reveals little about its ending, but within Francois Prins’s story, his fighting spirit and his courage hold lessons for others.
Former Springboks’ Head Coach, Jacques Nienaber, just before the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, told his players: “Considering where some of you have started life, the chances are that you shouldn’t have been here. But you changed that script in your own life.
“Don’t let that change now. Don’t let anybody write your life story for you.
“Continue to show the world who you are, continue to write the story yourself.”
It’s as if Francois Prins heard that speech, took note, vowed to live by it, and has diligently stuck to it.
