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Lizo Gqoboka often speaks of the secret place he goes to every morning. There, in a room with only his thoughts, he says he wins the battles of his life. They are battles that make what this Blue Bulls and former Springbok prop has had to face on the field pale in comparison to the life he has lived off it.
Sitting next to him in a bakkie as he drives us through the forests of Tzaneen in Limpopo – as part of a Vodacom Red 4x4 Experience in which he, his fellow Bulls players and a host of clients are participating – Gqoboka opens up about his journey. He does so, he says, to remind himself that he has fought and won these battles, rather than to seek any form of sympathy.
It has been a journey of intense perseverance and faith in which he has had to endure hunger, months of unemployment, financial collapse and constant uncertainty about his career.
Born near Mount Frere in the Ntabankulu district of the Eastern Cape, Gqoboka was only introduced to rugby when he went to study in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
“There was no rugby where I grew up. Durban also marked the first time I met white people. I was 19 years old when I first had fast food and pizza. The first time I walked into a gym was in 2011,” he said.
After honing his skills in the local club rugby scene, he was encouraged by a few senior players to take his career further.
“They said I had talent, but that it was still raw and that I should consider the Eastern Province Kings to develop my rugby before looking at the bigger teams.”
In the meantime, Gqoboka had completed his studies and was looking for a job to continue supporting his family back home.
“It was tough; I was unemployed for seven months. I was starving. I went for weeks without electricity. There was one night when, at 9.40pm, I had given up hope of finding food. Suddenly, my friend drove to my flat and took me to buy pies at the garage. There was no reason for him to drive all that way past the garage to my place and then back to get pies. Years later, I asked him what made him do that. He just said he felt like a pie and didn’t want to eat alone. But I know that was God providing for me.”
Finally, he secured a job with a construction company. With access to the internet, he searched for the Kings’ contact details and, for three weeks, he phoned them daily, begging them for a trial.
“Eventually, they gave in and booked me a flight to come for a trial. So I resigned from my job and went to Port Elizabeth.”
Despite a good trial, Gqoboka was not offered a contract.
“I wasn’t being paid at all and I really struggled. I was sleeping with curtains as a blanket. I had nothing. It was worse than Durban. I knew nobody who could help me. And, to make matters worse, my parents were heavily in debt because I no longer had a job to help them.
“I had no shoes to go to the gym and was chased out of there. So, I phoned home and my parents scraped together R70 for me to buy a pair of shoes. The other players laughed so hard at me. They were all there with Puma and Adidas shoes, and I had this pair of R70 trainers.
“I remember one time I had 90 cents left on my electricity meter. I quickly boiled water and that was my electricity gone. Then I threw in some flour and sugar and mixed it all together, and that’s what I ate. But I made it last for a couple of days because I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from.”
After months of barely surviving and still trying to train, Gqoboka was offered a contract by the Kings.
“They gave me a one-year contract. I celebrated so much. I thought things were getting better. My mum was deep in debt. They took everything, leaving her with R150 for the month.”
Gqoboka provided for his mother, his sister – who was in her second year of study – and his brother, a young boxer.
Friend and fellow player Edgar Marutlulle said: “The thing about Lizo is that he takes on the responsibilities of others.”
Gqoboka continued: “I took loans to keep my family going and, before I knew it, I was blacklisted. Four of us were staying in one room in the township. It was tough to focus on training because I’d be looking at the time and I’d realise that the others would be coming home and there would be nothing to eat. That’s stress.”
Ironically, the eventual bankruptcy of the Kings gave him the lifeline he needed. Shortly before this happened, the Kings had offered him a new contract and paid him a signing-on fee, which allowed him to pay off his mother’s loans and get legal help to clear his credit record.
“My breakthrough came when the Kings went bankrupt because they were then in breach of contract. I had offers from the Bulls, Sharks and Cheetahs at the time. I decided to go with the Bulls.”
There is now a sense that the man who once wore R70 takkies to training is destined to wear a Springbok jersey in the not-too-distant future. Meanwhile, he continues to work tirelessly to help kids in his hometown to have a chance at achieving what he has achieved through his foundation, which he funds himself and which recently saw 800 kids turn up for a sports day he hosted.
“When I sit in my secret place, I remind myself of the battles I’ve won, and it helps me to face the battles of the future. I know I will get there. And I know I’m going to help other children like me get there as well.”
