DJ Forbes, captain of New Zealand, leads his team inside after training on February 5, 2010 in Wellington, New Zealand.
(Photo by Marty Melville/Getty Images)

DJ Forbes understands the importance of good leadership

There is a new star on the rugby field, but not from league or union, no, DJ Forbes is making a name for himself in Rugby Sevens.

The New Zealand skipper who has been playing the game for six years wasted no time in proving he was a man to contend with. In his short career he has won the 2008 IRB International Sevens of the Year award, the New Zealand Samoan Sports Association Sports person of the Year and a gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“Off the pitch Forbes is quiet, reserved and deeply religious,” says a commentator on IRB.com. “On the field he is strong, powerful, dogged, inspiring and hugely competitive, all of which combines to make him very uncomfortable to play against. He also seems to have a knack of knowing how and when to speak with the referee.”

DJ himself keeps fairly quiet, preferring to stay out of the limelight, but he has done a few interviews to explain to his fans what makes him the man he is today.

“Playing Sevens is physically demanding and with a coach like Gordon Tietjens pushing us to

new heights in our training, we are fully prepared when we take the field,” DJ says. “However, as much as I prepare physically I also prepare spiritually.”

That’s right, the man who can lead his team to a gold medal victory relies on God to lead him.

“My desire to be a professional rugby player only happened when I made a decision to make Jesus Christ the Lord over my life,” he explains.

DJ readily admits that the concept of God was not foreign to him. As a 16-year-old he had what he terms a “taste of God,” due to the influence of his church-going cousins. But, popularity with his teammates, girls and alcohol appeared more immediately satisfying and he soon forgot about the commitment he had made to God.

“About six years ago I arrived at a crossroads in my life,” he recalls. “I was at a point where I needed to make a decision for my life as I realised that I couldn’t carry on living the way I was.

“My life at the time only existed to play rugby, to have a beer with the boys, chasing girls and all the other desires of my head.”

Around the same time, DJ’s girlfriend became a Christian and he decided to recommit his life to Jesus Christ. Believing in the truth of Psalm 37, verse 4, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart,’ DJ trusted in Jesus Christ as his Saviour by taking the punishment he deserved for his sin and thus rescuing him from certain judgment.

DJ says surrendering to Jesus as Lord of his life meant releasing his grasp on everything else and trusting Jesus for everything he needed.

“I knew that I needed God in my life the whole time, not like before. This is when things drastically started happening for me,” he recalls.

“All the desires of my heart started flowing into my life and it was only because of the decision I made to trust God for everything.

“I was a rugby player who hadn’t played provincial rugby, let alone international. I was not known in international circles and all of a sudden I got the opportunity to trial for the New Zealand Sevens side.”

At camp for the trials, DJ met a fellow Christian and together they prayed they would make the selection. Not only were their prayers answered but nine months later DJ was asked to captain the team.

“Everybody was probably asking, ‘Who is DJ Forbes?’” he laughs.

DJ, however, wants his fans to be asking another question, ‘who is Jesus Christ?’

“As much as I take my rugby seriously, my walk with God I take even more seriously. Prayer for me is a big part of my preparation, however it is something that I never push onto any of the other players in the team.

DJ Forbes displaying his 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal with son Titus

“We have Bible meetings almost every night and the boys are free to come and join in and give thanks and praise God. If there are any prayer requests we take the time to pray.

“On the night before the two day tournament we normally go into Coach Tietjens’ room for the jersey presentation where we offer up a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to play in the tournament and represent our country.

“It is awesome to see the whole team and management bow our heads and give thanks — we give God thanks for the losses as well as the wins.”

DJ understands that not every one will agree with his beliefs and that some think that he is weak relying on God. As far as he is concerned, though, if given the choice all over again he would not do anything different.

“My life changed the day I decided to follow God and make Jesus the Lord over me. Maybe you are sitting on the fence and undecided which way to go. Let me say that in a game situation there comes a time when the battle is hard and you need someone to follow, to lead the way.

“I encourage you to follow Jesus. Everyone likes to follow the crowd and to be popular, but I can assure you that if I had done that, I would not be where I am today. More so, I would not be able to receive the gift of eternal life that God has promised for those who follow Him.

“You have an opportunity right now to start to live differently. Don’t follow the crowd but follow Jesus. My challenge to you is to do it now and choose to trust in God. Luck has nothing to do with it — it’s all about God,” DJ concludes.

With thanks to Promise Keepers magazine — promisekeepers.org.uk