Springboks flanker ‘shot dead’

Solly Tyibilika, the first black African to score a Test try for the Springboks, was shot dead in a Cape Town bar, South African media reported yesterday.

Police said a man entered the bar and opened fire “at random”.

The 32-year-old flanker was born in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape province which is the heartland of black rugby in South Africa.

Tyibilika scored a try on his test debut in 2004 against Scotland at Murrayfield – a game Jake White’s Springboks won by 45-10.

According to The Scotsman, that encounter saw Scotland coach Matt Williams’ team “pulverised in the name of progress”.

South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said he was distressed to hear of Tyibilika’s death.

“Solly was a trailblazer among black African Springboks and to lose him so suddenly and in this brutal manner is very distressing,” Hoskins said.

“His emergence was a demonstration of what can be achieved when talent is combined with opportunity in what is always a very competitive position in Springbok rugby.

“I remember a very talented player and an immensely likable young man who rose far and fast to become a Springbok early in his career.”

A hard-running loose forward with tremendous stamina, Tyibilika played in eight tests and scored three tries, the last against New Zealand in Pretoria in 2006.

After playing 16 Super Rugby matches for the Natal Sharks, Tyibilika moved to the Lions in 2007 but never settled in Johannesburg and returned to the Eastern Cape, playing for Border between 2008 and 2010.

He made 158 first-class appearances, scoring 24 tries, for Griqualand West, the Sharks, Lions and Border.