Brenden Nel - SuperSport.com
Pretoria - Bulls prop Lizo Gqoboka is looking to reach a goal that is as remarkable as his life story.
In a country where the green and gold is desired by all who love the oval ball, a Springbok cap becomes not just a lifelong dream, but for some a crowning achievement of overcoming some of the toughest challenges life can throw at you.
And, as reported on supersport.com, Gqoboka, 29, is no different. His story is no less touching, his circumstances no less eventful that when, rather than if, he becomes a Springbok, it will be another chapter of success in rising above his circumstances.
Because for the Bulls prop his situation mirrors that of Bok captain Siya Kolisi, rising above poverty and township hardships to find his way into a sport that offers these hopes and dreams. But where Gqoboka differs is the unique nature of his story, and the fact he only started playing rugby at the age of 19.
Born in Mount Frere, between Mthatha and Kokstad in the Eastern Cape, his story sounds like many others in South Africa... where there was simply no rugby played at Tabankulu High School. It was only after high school when he moved to Durban, that seeing a “small” rugby player sparked his interest in the sport.
“I saw this guy, and he was smaller than me, and I thought if he could play rugby, then so can I. I asked him to join him one day at a local club - Queensborough. He gave me a lift to the club and I got there ready to smash someone,” Gqoboka smiles.
“They were playing touch rugby and I walked on to the field. I was so confused - what is happening here? I had never seen someone play touch rugby before.”
He was quickly moved to No 8 and packed down at lock as well for the club. “I didn’t jump though,” he laughed.
His friends convinced him to join “a better team” so he made his way to Collegians.
“I didn’t want to go, I didn’t have a car at the time, but he promised to give me a lift,” Gqoboka explains. “And he did.”
It sparked the love of the game and a move to prop for him, where he played at under-20 level, moving up in the club ranks before he decided to set his eyes on a possible move to Port Elizabeth and the Kings.
After looking for a full-time job for seven months, Gqoboka found himself employment in Durban, but decided to take the chance and convince the Kings to give him a go.
“I started calling them every day, asking them to give me a chance. They said I must send them a video of where I played at school. I told them I didn’t play rugby at school and they said ‘no, we can’t help you’
“But I didn’t give up. I kept on phoning and asking for an opportunity. I wouldn’t give up. After three weeks they said I was too persistent, come for trials. I was overjoyed and the favour of God was immense, it was overwhelming.
“They booked me a flight and hotel to stay in. For me that was mindblowing how God can do things? How can you go for an interview and the company pays for your flight and hotel? That was amazing for me.”
Gqoboka was thrust into the African Bombers club team, owned by then CEO Anele Pamba, to be tested before his trial at the Kings. He quit his Durban job “to give rugby a chance” and while it did not come quickly, his gamble would eventually pay off.
Despite doing well in the trials, he never was given a contract, and was forced to sleep on the floor of a friend’s apartment, dropping to the worst low in his life as his rugby dream started to flicker in front of his eyes.
“It was a tough time. I had no salary, I quit my job and was sleeping on the floor. It was easily three or four days without electricity at a time. This one day I was left with flour and sugar. I boiled water and mixed the flour and sugar and ate the mixture for four days. I didn’t have any other food.
“I had to ration it because I didn’t know where my next meal would come from. I didn’t know anyone in PE but I was hungry for success. I am grateful that God gave me the courage and perseverance to go through those hard times and still smile. Nobody could see what I was going through.”
Five months of living like this went by before Rob Kempson gave Gqoboka a one-year contract, starting a four-year journey upwards that saw him move to the Bulls.
That journey has been one of speedbumps and obstacles, but as his form this year suggests, Gqoboka could be finally within reach of his dream, and in a World Cup year that would be nothing short of sensational.
And now that he is there, he is giving back. Probably more than most in his position would ever consider. More than is expected of the modern day professional sportsman. Gqoboka has a mission now to also make a difference in others’ lives.
He founded the foundation in his name “because where I am from there are no opportunities, people still spend half the day getting water from the river.
“Coming from a place like that, it can’t be that I am the only one who has a talent for sport. It is more but there are no opportunities, nobody is teaching the kids about sport. Nobody is giving them a chance. That is why I started the foundation.”
Through sports and education - the latter is a massive focus for Gqoboka, he is embarking on a quest to change lives. His first project has seen a young football talent given a bursary to a top school in Johannesburg, with the youngster spending the weekends with Gqoboka, who assumes the father figure role.
Gqoboka organises a schools tournament back in the Eastern Cape, and has invited the big schools to scout talent there, with his dream being to give more children from his hometown a chance to make it big. And it doesn’t stop there. Gqoboka hopes to be an inspiration to more children and to help them achieve their dreams of making it big.
So when Gqoboka’s name finally makes it into the green and gold annals, and he pulls his Springbok blazer over his shoulders, his remarkable story is the thing of legends. And the inspiration he brings to his community in the Eastern Cape is unparalleled.
If ever there was a deserving player to reach the Bok milestone, Gqoboka is that player.
READ the story on supersport.com
