Stellenbosch is a small and intimate town, and one needs only to journey with Stephens as he cycles the less than three-kilometre route to and from training to recognize that he has been embraced as an honorary local himself.
“Those little things are the big things,” he says. “When I ride to training, or if I drop the kids at school, or at the coffee shops and restaurants, everyone greets me. They often stop me and say, ‘Hey, Sage, my ‘keeper, my ‘keeper.’ Those are the things that have become important to me.
“Stellenbosch has certainly taken me in and adopted me. It’s a nice feeling because it means they’ve seen what I’ve tried to give to the Cub, and it’s special to know that the people from the town we play for and represent recognize that. It’s very special.”
Not bad for a No. 2
Now one of the foremost goalkeepers in South African football, Stephens’ journey to the top was not always straightforward, but he reveals that his struggles for game time during the early stages of his career helped him to develop the character and quality he needed to thrive in Stellenbosch.
“A characteristic that I’ve grown in myself, in both football and in life, is that I always try to prove people wrong,” he explains. “It’s not always the best thing, but in the sports industry, it’s certainly helped me because I’ve used it as a driving force.
“At a previous club, I was told I’m the best No. 2 in the country but that I wasn’t viewed as a No. 1. That wasn’t great to hear, but I used it as extra motivation. You can’t listen to one person’s opinion. You have to make sure you believe in what you see in the mirror every day; otherwise, you won’t get anywhere.”
That mindset has served the former Moroka Swallows, AmaZulu, and Cape Town City shot stopper well at Stellenbosch, where he was a core figure in the squads that won the 2023 Carling Knockout, reached back-to-back MTN8 finals, and twice qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup.
“Winning the Carling Knockout was the biggest achievement for me,” Stephens says. “I’ve been part of teams where we have won trophies before, but I had never been the starting goalkeeper, so it was an incredible feeling to be there and to lift the trophy.
“The nice thing about the Club’s recent history is that there are flagbearers in each era and timeline. You have the likes of Lee Langeveldt and the group that got the Club promoted, and then our group that won the Carling Knockout, and soon the group that does the next thing. To know that my name is etched into a little bit of that history is something that you can’t put a price on.
“There have been so many other memories along the way, too. The match against Cape Town City in 2023 is the one that I believe put us on the map and got the ship steering towards the Carling Knockout success and us playing on the continent and all that.
“We were 2-0 down in 20 minutes, but something just clicked at the Club. We came back to win and became a steam train. After that, we put ourselves up there with the so-called big clubs in the league, and just being on the field that day, seeing the reaction of the players, you could tell things had changed.”
Extending the record as far as possible
With the record now under his belt and with the possibility of reaching the 200-game milestone on the horizon, Stephens is hoping to continue playing for as long as he can, particularly with a current teammate hot on his heels on Stellies’ appearance list.
“I have to keep going,” he concludes with a laugh. “It’s either I do, or Devin Titus is going to overtake me. He’s just a few games behind me, and I can’t let him beat me while I’m still playing. I’ll have to retire first, then he can go past me.
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