Hung out to die
16 Dec 2011
RYAN VREDE, writing in Business Day Sport Monthly, says the late Solly Tyibilika was always fighting a losing battle.
Solly Tyibilika’s career died long before his life ended. Indeed, a strong argument can be made that his life ended because his career died.
The why and how are important in equal measure when reflecting on his career and life. Why Tyibilika, who, by all accounts, had become mixed up with elicitors of trouble, was murdered in a hail of bullets in a Gugelethu shebeen on a Sunday afternoon, was still under investigation at the time of writing. How the 32-year-old went from crossing the tryline on debut for the Springboks in 2004 to lying in police chalk lines seven years later, is compelling. It is the rugby tragedy of our time.
I was lunching with a Springbok and former team-mate of Tyibilika’s at the time the news of his death broke. As details of its nature emerged – a calculated, gang-style hit that saw his body pumped with what an eye witness deemed ‘countless shots’ – his reaction struck me as strange. Tyibilika’s violent end was not unexpected. Through at least 20 text messages the player showed me it became apparent that this sentiment was shared by even those players who were closest to him. Certainly his death was lamented in these messages, but it was telling that most senders were not particularly surprised by its nature.
‘When Solly felt cared for he was invested in his career and determined to succeed,’ the player said. ‘When he felt hard done by he could be pretty self-destructive.’
There were to be increasing instances when his emotional immaturity manifested in this manner as his career progressed. But this wasn’t always so. Tyibilika caught the Sharks’ eye in 2003 off the back of impressive performances for Griquas. He would establish himself as a regular member of their Super Rugby squad – his pace, upper-body strength, work rate and robust approach placing him among the top openside flankers in the country at the time. He lacked the finesse, guile, vision and tactical appreciation that separated the good scavengers from the great ones, but attained a level of consistency that appealed to Springbok coach Jake White in late 2004.
There were muted grumbles of a political agenda when Tyibilika was named in White’s end-of-year tour squad. However, the overriding feeling was that Tyibilika had the potential to develop into a more than competent Test player.
He acquitted himself well on debut against Scotland at Murrayfield, becoming the first black African to score a try for the Springboks. He started against Argentina in Buenos Aires a week later and maintained a high enough standard domestically in 2005 to be a part of White’s squad for the Test season. There had been little evidence to support rhetoric about the wealth of world-class black talent in Tyibilika’s home province, the Eastern Cape. Tyibilika, it appeared, would be a groundbreaker in this regard, particularly since he was a forward, a rare commodity in a region renowned for producing backline players.
Then something happened that hinted at a delinquent demon that would surface with greater and lesser degrees of intensity as his career progressed. The Springboks staged a Test in East London against Uruguay. Tyibilika scored twice in the 134-3 rout and later invited friends who had travelled from his hometown, New Brighton, up to his hotel room to share a celebratory drink. He left three days later, having missed the team’s flight to Durban and depleting most of his not inconsiderable match fee.
Still, there were glimpses of brilliance that inspired. A month later Tyibilika would outplay Australian George Smith in a Tri-Nations Test at Ellis Park, before being injured and substituted at half-time by Schalk Burger.
The Springboks won 33-20 but Tyibilika only featured in the southern hemisphere showpiece again a year later, playing in losing sides in three Tests, although not looking an impostor in elevated company. This was particularly pertinent, given that in a post-match press conference a week before, White had intimated that Tyibilika was included because of the colour of his skin. There was a clamour for the in-form Luke Watson’s inclusion after the Springboks suffered a 49-0 defeat to Australia in Brisbane, but White explained his decision to go with Tyibilika, in light of Danie Rossouw’s tour-ending injury, saying: ‘We need to be honest about sensitivities of the make-up of the team and show that transformation is happening in our country. We have got a guy like Solly on tour. There is a relationship in a team structure and we need to be considerate to that dynamic between the players.’
In Burger’s injury-enforced absence White later called Tyibilika the best openside flank in the country prior to the Loftus Test against New Zealand. The 47 minutes Tyibilika played in that heavy defeat would be his last for the Springboks.
This had much to do with a move to the Lions in 2007, one, he said, necessitated by the lack of game time he was getting in Durban. Breaking into the World Cup squad was his top priority and White had offered assurances that he was in the planning for the tournament. Eager to make a good impression on his new employers, Tyibilika trained relentlessly in the off-season and was unrivalled in the conditioning stakes when tests were conducted in camps in preparation for the Super Rugby campaign. However, his contribution amounted to little more than hit-outs in a couple of pre-season friendlies. Deemed surplus to requirements, Tyibilika was relegated to the Vodacom Cup side, where, he claimed, the coach wasn’t aware of his demotion and not prepared to integrate him into his plans. Thus began Tyibilika’s descent, marked by regular absenteeism and an ever-declining appetite for the game and its demands. His hunger for hedonism grew in direct proportion. He was relegated to club rugby. This a year after playing the All Blacks. The Lions released him from his R700 000-a-year contract. His ambition of breaking into the World Cup squad lay in tatters. He would end up watching the final in an East London shebeen.
The South African Rugby Union (Saru) made weak attempts at rehabilitating a man it once claimed to have great faith in. The Lions are even more culpable. Certainly Tyibilika must not be mitigated for his self-destructive behaviour, but he was failed by those who professed to have his interests at heart.
He is not alone in this regard. There have been varying levels of incompetence and irresponsibility in Saru’s dealings with black players specifically. Top South African coach Heyneke Meyer relayed the story of Chiliboy Ralepelle and Hilton Lobberts’ selection to tour Europe with the Springboks in 2006 to me. Ralepelle and Lobberts were among the best in their positions in the world at U19 level. Prior to their announcement in the squad Meyer pleaded with Saru not to take them, citing their emotional and physical immaturity and stressing that they would be better equipped two years from then.
Lobberts is said to have blown the R400 000 he made on two Volkswagen GTIs, supporting Meyer’s former assertion. He hasn’t played for South Africa in five years and hasn’t looked close to doing so. Ralepelle struggled with recurring injuries thereafter, lending support to the latter offering. He also suffered at the hands of national coaches who told the world he was rugby royalty, but treated him like a leper.
There are others who exhibited a capacity to overcome setbacks, former Springbok wing Ashwin Willemse being the prime example. Despite being plagued by injuries, Willemse refused to allow his spirit to be killed. He regained fitness and was included in the 2007 World Cup squad. He now has a burgeoning career as an analyst on SuperSport that is far removed from the path his life could have followed had he opted to surrender to Hope’s assassin and return to the drug and gang culture that was a feature of his childhood. Tyibilika didn’t possess Willemse’s immense resolve. His tendency for self-sabotage demanded that he had a strong mentor, even a team of them, who could constantly reinforce his value, celebrate his talent and be prepared to talk hard when needed. In addition, he also needed brutal honesty and a clearly defined goal from his coaches. Instead he found the validation and emotional investment he sought from men who fuelled the beast within.
There is no question that Tyibilika was a fundamentally good man whose life course diverted from a route that promised a rich legacy to one that led to a premature and deeply saddening end. But that alone doesn’t warrant bringing his story into the national consciousness.
There are lessons in Tyibilika’s life and his violent death that must be heeded by the game’s administrators. History reflects that professional black athletes, specifically those from low socio-economic backgrounds, are more prone to delinquency than their white counterparts. A range of explanations has been offered for this, the primary one being the former’s generally underdeveloped emotional intelligence and life skills which compromises their capacity to adequately deal with their ascent from paupers to princes. This rings true for South African rugby players, where that division between privileged and poor is even more pronounced.
This is the stark education that Tyibilika’s story must provide. It is utterly unacceptable that 16 years into the professional era the game’s administrators still haven’t established a world-class programme that focuses on equipping young black players with the skills needed to negotiate challenges they will encounter in their careers. This must be an issue that commands immediate attention.
Tyibilika possessed some measure of fight even in the last moments, dragging his bullet-riddled body across the ground for a couple of metres in search of help. His physical wounds ultimately proved to be mortal, but the mental wounds he incurred in the latter part of his professional career had long since killed his spirit. How different it could all have been had someone cared for him enough to make his mind bulletproof.
– This article appears in the January issue of Business Day Sport Monthly, on sale now at selected outlets
454 Comments
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16 Dec 2011, 11:15 am
We don’t much “mentor” lotto winners, sudden heirs, kids who become rock or movie or golf superstars. It’s patronising to treat them like primary school children who need chaperones and overseers. They grow up in their own time and at their own pace. And, if some fall by the wayside, (think Hendrix, Joplin, Winehouse, Morrison, Lohan, Maradona, Best etc) we just shrug and move on. It’s not our fault and neither is it our duty. They’re adults. It’s their own life and their own lookout.
16 Dec 2011, 12:35 pm
Ryan,
This article will not please everyone.
It is nonetheless poignant and bold.
16 Dec 2011, 13:33 pm
There”s a lot of rather superficial comments, like Tacklers, that totally ignore the immense cultural background between black and white players in South Africa, that black players are expected to bridge and fit into. In almost all aspects they’re outsiders and strangers. This is also probably the reason why coloured players don’t have the same attrition rate.
16 Dec 2011, 13:48 pm
brilliant chaps, brilliant…
16 Dec 2011, 13:58 pm
Very sad story………unfortunately I think a lot of ……….young……. guys that suddenly go from being poor to quite wealthy in a short space of time (oh and having fame) go a bit moggie. Also think the problem is exacerbated if they are very headstrong and wont take advise, and this not just here in SA but all over the world, take the kiwi lightie naked, drunk and brawling. A bit of fame and adulation mixed with a bit of bucks and its a bit easy to go off the rails i think.
16 Dec 2011, 14:09 pm
“A month later Tyibilika would outplay Australian George Smith in a Tri-Nations Test at Ellis Park, before being injured and substituted at half-time by Schalk Burger.”
This is the first time that I heard of Solly’s supposed injury in that game… Complete and utter kak.. JW wanted Schalk to get some glory for that Victory
Ryan refers to him being part of the 49 – zeroers.. I dont remember this. Did he play a full game??
Ryan also refers to him being part of other losing Bok teams as if he was responsible for those losses??
16 Dec 2011, 14:21 pm
“White explained his decision to go with Tyibilika, in light of Danie Rossouw’s tour-ending injury, saying: ‘We need to be honest about sensitivities of the make-up of the team and show that transformation is happening in our country. We have got a guy like Solly on tour. There is a relationship in a team structure and we need to be considerate to that dynamic between the players.’
Wow………………………………………..great team building Jake.
16 Dec 2011, 15:02 pm
Schalk Burger’s sister gets raped and it’s a tragedy. Bees Roux was the victim of a corrupt cop. Solly gets murdered and it’s his fault for not handling fame and fortune well because he’s black?
This article could be ok but you start naming black guys who blew their money on a couple of VWs and using this as evidence for a trend? Please.
16 Dec 2011, 15:24 pm
yeah it wouldn’t suprise me one little bitty if it were actually the let down disappointment suffered under the so called ‘mentorship’ of his holy highness Jake the self serving snake that actually got Solly so disillusioned by Sa rugby that started his slithering down the slippery slope of no return. All those bullshit promises nullified into dust
16 Dec 2011, 15:34 pm
joost
japie
dalton
small
fark man…why make it because of someones color?
I rest my case
16 Dec 2011, 15:44 pm
i appreciate what this article was trying to cover, but it comes across as a bit condescending. not sure i appreciate the sentiment that (especially) black players need to have their hand held through their rugby careers. black or white, people’s lives take turns for reasons we cannot explain, it’s just one of those things.
16 Dec 2011, 15:54 pm
Really sad to read this.
But why must we have it splashed up again? Really it must hurt his family reading this.
16 Dec 2011, 15:57 pm
@grant10-60: yeah and add to that percy for beating his wife and so many all blacks of all colours for alcohol and spousal abuse.
I imagine when Lobberts was buying a hatchback for himself and one for his Mum he didn’t expect years later being mentioned in an article about blacks going off the rails. I’ve got plenty of white friends buying cars with money they don’t have and not living up to their potential
16 Dec 2011, 15:58 pm
And as is to be expected from this specific site, where, at least, 90% of the adherents emanate from a ‘culture’ so rich in the maintainance of APARTHEID, the ‘wisdoms’ of the answers,to specific social problems, hardly experienced by them, never ceases to flow and endlessly so year after year.
How many of them, so subjected to their wonderful ivory tower, desired existence of privilege, ever saw the inside of these townships, let alone the the insides of the meager dwellings, of New Brighton, Nyanga, Gelvandale, Umlazi, Dobsonville, Kwazakhele,Manenberg, Gugulethu, Chatsworth and countless more, for them to furnish us with these ‘pearls’ of their ‘wisdoms’ of social problems they have no experience of?
They can cast their ‘pearls’ of ‘wisdoms’ to their swine for eventually these workers will some day solve their real social problems in a telling manner.
16 Dec 2011, 16:20 pm
this is nothing new from this arsehole ryan vrede. just last year chiliboy was the “posterboy of quota players” a label i don’t recall ANY white player elevated too early into Bok rugby EVER getting. it’s one thing to lament labels on people & another to use the same stereotypes to try and make a point.
jongi nokwe
tiger mangweni
odwa ndungane
akona ndungane
john mametsa
jonathan makoena
ashwell prince
makhaya ntini
gcobani bobo
and others are players of colour who have handled money & fame, so where do they fit in the stereotype vrede is selling?
16 Dec 2011, 16:27 pm
” … reason why coloured players don’t have the same attrition rate.”
What is a “coloured player”?
Is it a cricketer who cannot play TEST cricket for his country of birth, S.A., but can play ODIs and T20 because the former is played in WHITE flannels while the later is played in all sorts of s bright, eye-catching “coloured” team strips?
Or is it, perhaps, an association football player who cannot play for Real Madrid or Leeds United(Mighty Whites),at home, or a rugby player who cannot likewise play for England because their home strips all are of the purist white; but they can play away for said teams because away strips always are “coloured”?
Why must these tags, which have their origins among the whites of England to stress their ‘supriority’ over the locals in far flung other countries(foreign to England), still be in daily usage in the present ‘democracy’ of S.Africa?
No proud, intelligent democracy can surely so willingly bastardize that pride and intelligence and democracy?
What is a “black” player? Give the answer in the space below:
.
.
.
.
What is a “white” player?
In the realm of a principled individual their are only non-racial players or racist players.
Sepp Blatter is a racist but Rio Ferdinand and Beckham are non-racial players as seen through their careers and the fact that they vilified Blatter for his racist comments.
16 Dec 2011, 16:34 pm
The Bulls 2011 campaigns saw them missing both the Super Rugby and CC play-offs.
That despite a great help from Jonker, Pro Legota, Craig Joubert and few other referees.
That was also Chiliboi’s first season as a regular in the Bulls’ line up, now go figure the compound revenue losses incurred for the Bulls organization compared to 2009 & 2010 seasons?
A coincidence?
16 Dec 2011, 16:38 pm
Hondo and E.T. posts so close together… could cause a rip in the fabric of the universe
16 Dec 2011, 16:39 pm
@gonzo-63: i’m sitting here wondering which stereotype a serial drug user & waste of talent like joe van niekerk fits into?
16 Dec 2011, 16:56 pm
@ashampoopaloo-59: If you tried really hard you could likely link the debt crisis in Europe and failure of the Russian Mars probe to Jake White. Just give it a try, Skoppie.
16 Dec 2011, 17:33 pm
So Solly was a “delinquent demon” because he went on a bender and bought a coupla cars.
Ag please Reyhan.
And who are the “elicitors of trouble”???
16 Dec 2011, 18:06 pm
In 71 posts the best sentence, and the one that gets to the core of it is: “They love rugby in Guguletu as much as they do Waterkloof. The goal should always have been to provide them with the same tools in life to develop into world class players in Guguletu similar to what they have in Waterkloof, or Paarl.”
Thats it
16 Dec 2011, 18:12 pm
@cane-57: Thats one little excerpt Cane, and out of context. Read Jake’s book for a more complete account. His logic is sound though – even in that excerpt. There are team dynamics and often a guy who has had exposure to the team is a better bet then a newbie.
SBW didnt replace Nonu, even though Nonu wasnt looking that hot and SBW set the world alight in S15. Dagg still had to watch Nils take the field. just 2 of hundreds of examples in various teams.
There are exceptions like Cruden being called up before Donald, and there is a place for that too.
Luke had never been a Bok and Solly had never lost a Test. Jake was right in asking how can he justify calling up Luke to the team and to Solly.
16 Dec 2011, 18:32 pm
@kwas-70: here you are kwassie have a goody gumdrop gander at this little independent take on your lovely palsy welsy Jakey the fakey snake and then come tell me that the seed to Solly’s little sad disillusionment with his ‘mentor’ and all those fake me first Lilly lumped together lardy dah dumplings who couldn’t actually give two hoots about Solly’s demise, after all they were sitting up Jakey’s fakey backside and had the hole shot all the way to that fake 2007 Disneyland ride,.. didn’t get kick started right there
http://showme.co.za/lifestyle/jake-white-threatened-me-with-kebble-killer/
16 Dec 2011, 18:35 pm
href=”#comment-2053633″>bokfan1-73: reckon you should read it too
@ashampoopaloo-74:
16 Dec 2011, 18:44 pm
and for a slightly different perspective on Solly the ‘sadly disillusioned gangland delinquent gone bad’
what you gonna make of this .. huh ?
http://www.sportlive.co.za/rugby/morerugby/2011/11/15/tyibilika-played-for-the-joy-of-the-game
16 Dec 2011, 20:41 pm
Ryan, you farkin idiot, why write this without real backing. Respect the departed ,you invalid, and if you dont know the real facts shut the fark up. Farkin publicity-seeking wannabee cullert.
16 Dec 2011, 21:45 pm
I hate this headline.
17 Dec 2011, 01:37 am
Best article Vrede has ever written but not without its shortcomings.
They say assumption is the mother of all fckups-well there are a few in this article.
Then in other parts,very erudite points especially about a lack of a support structure in 16 yrs of professionalism.
There will be changes,very soon.Mark my words.One way or another
17 Dec 2011, 06:20 am
@David-53: “Cultural background”, my eye! It’s paternalistic and, frankly, racist to claim that black professionals all have to be nannied and nursemaided whereas white professionals come along all fully-cooked and vine-ripened. These men are adults. It’s their duty to behave as such. If they don’t, the consequences are their’s to bear, no matter their race, nationality, culture or whatever.
17 Dec 2011, 08:36 am
@ashampoopaloo-74: good heavens…..what a bloody snake he is !
17 Dec 2011, 08:36 am
@TheTackler-80: i totally agree.
17 Dec 2011, 09:01 am
A pathetic article, badly researched and in poor taste. You took complicated issues and oversimplified them to fit into the story like forcing a square peg in a round hole without actually giving us any of the new or revealing hard facts surrounding his death. Oh, and typical of Keo.co.za to kick a man while he’s “down”, now that he can’t do a book deal or whatever with you, unlike all the other stars that you fawn over and cosy up to. As for your laughable propositions about the ‘trends’ of people from disadvantages backgrounds, your condescending view is typical of the misconceptions and preconceived notions of those who come from privileged middle-class upbringings who’ve never actually experienced hardship and suffering for themselves.
17 Dec 2011, 12:17 pm
@TheTackler-80: Rubbish. The support systems are not in place for those who do not go to the top schools, as per Vrede’s article and PissAnt’s comments. They need to be.
17 Dec 2011, 13:21 pm
Shame, this poor Sri Lankan team is so outclassed the game should not even have been allowed to take place.
17 Dec 2011, 15:14 pm
philander you beauty…….
17 Dec 2011, 15:53 pm
@grant10-86: don’t cheer too much grant, vernon might go buy a GTi & an S3 with the match fees alone & booze himself silly that they won’t find him for the 2nd Test.
17 Dec 2011, 16:15 pm
Those comments by JW if true, are as bad, as those he alleges were made against him to make him pick watson.
That right there is the problem with SA, corruption and amateur strong-arm heavies at every level – all that rubbish needs to be brought right into the open immediately – and whoever makes those offers must be hung out to dry and get taken to the cleaners as well. There should be no room for any of these back-room standover tactics at all, which of course has always been the Bok way until they inevitably get outed.
As for Tybilika, his violent demise says more about what is acceptable in SA society then what SARU or JW did or did not do for him. He may have been treated poorly by the Lions, but either he was showing up for practice or he was not. That is a factual matter, which can be established.
17 Dec 2011, 16:17 pm
Now if you were really smart you would have ended that comment with:
after all he is a philanderer and has residual ‘strandloper’ genes in his make-up.
WRT the the original comment, the only problem about its accuracy is that VP is not an ANC admiring Xhosa.
17 Dec 2011, 16:21 pm
@cab-88:
Hey s hitarse why should they not be true?
Have you ever read anything about Smut or White denying it.
Those comments are actually very old and were posted on this site on the day the event occurred all those years ago.
17 Dec 2011, 16:24 pm
The only telling statement this cricket international ever truly makes is that the pride of not wanting to lose a cricket or rugby or football international, by most nations, has long bolted out of the stable since big money seriously came into the equation.
17 Dec 2011, 16:26 pm
@ET.-90:
wtf u doing out the pool? shouldnt u be paddling up some tannie’s buttcrack slipstream?
janee your little rudder is surely steering u into a rapid divorce.
17 Dec 2011, 16:29 pm
At the present rate VP is going by the time he has played 30 tests and only in S.A. he would by then have taken 240 wickets; 240 Ws in 30 tests is quite stunning.
Sadly he has been on the international scene for already 2 years but the ‘controllers’ did not visualise any merit in selecting him. They did not persevere. WHY?
Where is the MERIT in that?
17 Dec 2011, 16:31 pm
@cab-92:
Ek is nou in Oos London en kyk waar is jy nog. Ek swem nou in die strand waters wanneer ek wil.
17 Dec 2011, 16:33 pm
@cab-92:
NO man needs to ever stop his admiration for a thing of beauty, as it is a joy forever.
I do have much discipline in my life. And you?
17 Dec 2011, 16:34 pm
@ET.-95:
keep telling yourself that big fella.
17 Dec 2011, 16:36 pm
@cab-88:
You shouldn’t fall after a tendentious article like that,
Just to keep the record straight, here is what JW said in Nov 2005 after he pulled Solly T out of the test in Buenos Aires at the 30st minute:
“The Argie forwards were too physical, too strong for Solly, the coaching staff and myself became increasingly concerned that they might inflict a serious damage or even maime him”
Strictly speaking rugby, he was inadequate for that level, interesting that RV opted to ignor what happened in 2005!
JW did select Solly in 2006 but that was a trick to deny Luke Watson a place in the squad!
17 Dec 2011, 16:37 pm
all these great purveyors of beauty, what a fkn lag, u a dirty old man is all, spluttering to keep up with the rumpetypumpety form of a tannie’s derrier going heen & weer in the swembad, thats all – hell i dont mind, but lets not pretend its anything else.
17 Dec 2011, 16:42 pm
@Hondo-97:
i was talking about the link ashampoopaloo posted about comments he made trying to supopsedly intimate one of the press people, but you are right, it is good to take any article come out of SA with more than a pint of salt, cos its more then likely going to be utter kak.
17 Dec 2011, 17:00 pm
@ET.-89: hi ET are you in PE by any chance? if let’s have a drink at Caprice or any sheeben of your choice then we can thrash out the perceptions/misperceptions you so dearly hang on to chap.
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