Sometimes, it’s important to take a step backwards, so that you can take two forward. I mean, just look at how Iqraam Rayners’ life has transformed lately.
When Rayners struggled to cut the mustard at SuperSport United between 2020 – 2023, that must have been a dark period in his career. No doubt!
He had, after all, left the comfort of his hometown club Stellenbosch where he had scored a club record of 36 goals in 81 appearances hoping for greener pastures.
But instead of making the most of that opportunity, he formed part of an ugly statistic – he became one of the Western Cape-born footballers who struggled to live up to the fast life of Gauteng.
So, that must have stung for Rayners as he must have had mixed emotions, likely asking himself whether he’ll ever be good enough to make it in the harbour of SA football.
But as fate would have it, his decision to return to Stellies did him a world of good. He was able to re-instropect and work on himself again.
As such, that didn’t take him long either. He scored 15 and registered four assists in four months back at Stellies. An impactful contribution compared to his stint at SuperSport.
12 Goals 9 assists😮💨
Iqraam Rayners🙌🏽 what a signing pic.twitter.com/tMKJTdYxca
— ShowmaxSport (@ShowmaxSport) May 7, 2025
Of course, it would be naive and dishonest to say that he did it all on his own. He had his teammates and technical team, which include coach Steve Barker, for support.
In a league where players blossom for one season only to crumble in the next, Rayners wasn’t expected to come anywhere near those numbers in a full season with Stellies.
But boy, he made most of us eat humble pie. Rayners made a whopping contribution of 25 goals – 17 goals and eight assists – in 39 appearances across all competitions.
As such, he lost the coveted PSL Footballer of the Season award to his now Mamelod Sundowns’ teammate Ronwen Williams, and scooped the Carling Knockout Player of the Tournament gong.
When the news circulated that he was scouted by Sundowns, there was no doubt about his readiness mentally and physically given all that he’s been through.
And felicitously, that has proven to be the case. The 29-year-old has been one of the standout performers for the Brazilians.
He’s played a key role in Sundowns strides both domestically and continentally as they are on the verge of history across all fronts
Sundowns are on course to win their record eighth title in a row and second African crown as they are top of the Betway Premiership log and in the CAF Champions League final.
Rayners’ numbers are staggering as he has a 28-goal contribution – 19 goals and nine assists – in 39 games across all competitions, with five games still to be played this season.
His impact hasn’t only been noteworthy at Sundowns, but at Bafana Bafana as well. Coach Hugo Broos is an admirer of Rayners, thanks to his speed and knack for goals.
Of course, it would be a lie to say Rayners is not a man who has faults as he arrived at Sundowns on the back of a case for an assault incident which occurred in a night club in Stellies.
But for all his flaws, it appears that Rayners is always the first one to look at himself in the mirror and work on his mistakes as there’s been no such reported cases at Sundowns this season.
I mean even when coach Miguel Cardoso decided to start him from the bench at some point, he didn’t sulk and moan around. Instead, he made his cameos and tried to help the team.
The change of attitude and environment seem to always help Rayners that some pundits are already casting their votes for him to be a PSL Footballer of the Season nominee yet again.
Alas, he might again finish as one of the two bridesmaids as Cardoso reckons that Lucas Ribeiro has stood head and shoulders above the rest this season.
But be that as it may, Rayners doesn’t strike me as someone who’ll drop his head. Instead as a fighter who’ll strive to improve so that he gets better with every passing season.
And perhaps, that should be a life lesson: people must allow themselves to fall so that they can get up stronger and wiser!
