Rugby mourns death of Stofile

Rugby personalities are mourning the death this weekend of former South African Rugby Union deputy president Michael Stofile, saying they remember this son of the Eastern Cape as a fearless leader and activist who worked tirelessly for transformation in the sport.

Stofile, of Alice, died in Port Elizabeth early yesterday, following a long illness.

Stofile, 57, was in the intensive care unit of the Netcare Greenacres Hospital where he died just before 3am.

Saru president Oregan Hoskins said it was with great sadness that they learnt of Stofile’s passing.

“I contacted him recently to tell him he was my brother and that he was in my heart.

“Mike was a proud man who had clear views on rugby and sport and he unflinchingly stood for what he believed in during his time at Saru.

“He was vice-president for two years and deputy president for a further two until 2008 after holding the presidency of the Border Rugby Union.

“He publicly fought with his own president of the time – Brian van Rooyen – when he believed the game was being led astray. But there were good times as well and I remember celebrating winning the Rugby World Cup with him in Paris in 2007.

“His insights were instructive and his voice always heeded. He made his mark. His family have my deepest sympathies.

Rhodes University coach Qondakele Sompondo said he would describe Stofile’s unrelenting push for transformation in rugby as his biggest legacy.

“Mike was one of the front runners for rugby transformation in South Africa and one of the first black administrators of the sport. He really pushed the transformation agenda,” Sompondo said.

“He worked himself up all the way to deputy president of Saru. More than anything else he will be remembered for pushing for quotas – both for players and for coaches.”

Sompondo said at the time of his death Stofile was president of the Fort Hare rugby club.

“That club has produced the majority of black players for the Border Bulldogs. That team is almost entirely black,” Sompondo said.

Stofile is the brother of former premier, sports minister and chairman of the ANC in the Eastern Cape, Makhenkesi Stofile.

Mike also made a contribution to the struggle. A former player and administrator from the South African Rugby Union in the Border area, he was arrested, charged and convicted of terrorism and spent six years in prison in the Ciskei during the apartheid years.

He became vice-president of the South African Rugby Football Union, now known as the South African Rugby Union, in 2004 and deputy president in 2008.

Former Springbok 2007 World Cup winning team manager Zola Yeye said Stofile was his close friend and his death a devastating loss to the country at a time when rugby “needs principled leaders like him”.

“I met Mike when I was at university and he was playing club rugby in Alice. This was in the late 1970s. We met on the rugby field, later became family friends and were rugby administrators together.

“He was a very good guy who loved sport. It was something he inherited from his older brother, Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile.

“I found him to be a caring and loving individual with a really big heart. He cared for the players. He wanted things to be done right. Most of all he worked tirelessly for rugby to be transformed.

“The death of Mike Stofile is a sad loss to the nation,” Yeye said.

“He was a proud son of the Border area.”

Trevor Jennings, former president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union, said he met Stofile when they served on Saru’s executive committee.

He was very committed to the game and a very strong administrator,” Jennings said.