Former African Springbok captain, Welile Nkohla dies

On 23 July 2017, Welile James Nkohla, also known as ‘Bomza’, died at the age of 71 years of age in Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth, after a long battle with cancer. Nkohla was born on 22 February 1946. He started playing provincial rugby at the age of 21 years old.  In 1968, he was the Captain for the African Springbok Rugby playing against the SA Coloured National XV, beating the opposition with the score of 8-5. According to Mark Alexander, President of the South African Rugby Union, Nkohla was a legend of black rugby in the Eastern Cape. In 2004, Nkohla received South African Rugby President’s Award for his contribution in rugby.   Furthermore, in 2014, Welile Nkohla and the other living national captains were honoured for their role played in the South African rugby by having their handprints casted in bronze at the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum in Cape Town. Welile Nkohla left behind his wife and six children.