It was a very busy winter break for Ruben de Haas. 

The Arkansas-based scrumhalf attended the USA U20 (aka Men’s Junior All-American) camp before Christmas, and then the High School All-American camp after Christmas.

Since both camps were in Arizona, he and his family, naturally, spent December 25 in Las Vegas, as you do. 

The 17-year-old scrumhalf received very positive reviews from both assemblies, and is one of a group of young athletes who are showing the slightly older MJAA hopefuls how to get it done.

“I felt like I did pretty well,” said De Haas, who plays for the one high school team in Arkansas, and likely will be spending most of his spring in a jersey with an Eagle on it. 

One of the reasons is that De Haas, whose father was a highly-respected player back in the day in South Africa, has the skills. His pass is strong and dependable, and his box kicking is superior to most.

“Kicking is just something that I did growing up,” said the scrumhalf. “When I was young I played with the rugby ball all the time and kicking was just part of it. Being able to control your kick - you learn that by doing it a lot.”

De Haas may well be going back to Las Vegas in 2016 with the HSAA team slated to attend the Las Vegas Invitational. But it will be a tough road to get there.

“The backs, especially, all have good skills, and the younger guys at the High School All-American camp were really, really good. We’re all going to have to work hard to make that team.”