Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
KUDAKWASHE NYAKUFARINGWA walks into a room and people notice him before he says a word.
That is usually what happens when a man stands over two metres tall, weighs around 128kg and spends some of his spare time around boxing gloves and mixed martial arts (MMA) sessions.
On a rugby field, he plays lock, one of the toughest jobs in the sport.
From a distance, the picture almost paints itself.
But then he starts talking.
The voice softens. The smile appears. The jokes start flying around.
And suddenly the giant standing in front of you does not feel like a giant at all.
Around rugby circles, almost nobody calls him Kudakwashe. To most people, he is simply “Goofy”.
“It is actually a funny story how I got that name,” he said with a laugh.
“I have an elder brother who loved a Jamaican artist called Goofy. I heard he started calling me that when I was around six years old and it just stuck.
“I think something like 90 percent of the world population knows me as Goofy and not Kudakwashe.
“I can count on one hand the people who actually call me by my real name.”
Funny enough, the nickname barely scratches the surface.
Because, for all the hard collisions and physicality that come with his trade, Nyakufaringwa is full of contradictions.
The rugby player has the heart of a musician. He says a collaboration project is on the way later this year.
And rugby, the sport that now pays the bills and carries his name across borders, was once something he could not stand.
“I hated rugby with a passion,” he admitted. “I only play rugby because I grew up in a very sporty family and I was short and fat.
“I was pushed to learn all these different sports.”
Weekend mornings in the Nyakufaringwa household were rarely lazy affairs.
There were sessions in various sports including swimming, basketball and tennis — whatever could get children moving.
He remembers trips to former Zimbabwe cricket captain Victor Olonga’s home, where sport was almost treated like compulsory family business.
For a young boy who only wanted to eat and avoid unnecessary movement, it was not exactly enjoyable.
“It was hard being in a family where you are short and fat and all you wanted to do was eat,” he said, laughing.
“But now that I am older and wiser, that upbringing helped shape me into the man I am today and I am very grateful for it.”
Somewhere along the way, rugby stopped feeling like punishment.
But life also handed him a cruel lesson.
The man who pressured him towards the game, the late Arnold “Tuks” Takawira, would never fully see what that push had created.
Takawira’s name still carries weight in Zimbabwe rugby.
The former Sables player and Currie Cup representative was respected not just for what he achieved on the field, but for the people he shaped away from it.
Nyakufaringwa only truly fell in love with rugby after his uncle had passed away.
That still stings. Today, part of his journey feels like continuation rather than coincidence.
His career carries footprints left by a man who helped carve the path.
Recently though, the path hit a wall.
The Poland-based forward spent nine months out after damaging his ankle during Zimbabwe’s Rugby Africa Cup semi-final victory over Kenya last year.
He missed the final against Namibia. He missed rugby itself. He missed routine.
“I missed the final because of the ankle injury and rehab has been hard,” he said. “But luckily, I put in the work and I am fit again now.”
His return carried extra meaning.
The encounter in which Sables won against Zambia a couple of weeks back at Hartsfield was not just another game.
For Nyakufaringwa, it felt personal.
The former Milton High School learner had trained there countless times as he grew up.
He knew the ground long before he knew international rugby.
But strangely enough, he had never represented Zimbabwe there.
“First of all, credit to Bulawayo because they came out in their numbers,” he said.
“I hadn’t played there in years and it was my first time playing for the Sables there. Before the game, I was more nervous than anything.”
Nervousness and a 128kg forward do not often belong in the same sentence.
But this one mattered.
After years of training on that field, he finally walked onto it wearing national colours.
Then came the noise. The chants. The familiar voices. The feeling of being remembered.
“It was very special hearing my name being chanted,” he said.
“I didn’t think people would remember me because I have been away for a very long time.
“It was amazing. Just amazing.”
The fairytale, though, came with a slightly awkward ending.
Zimbabwe won 17-7, but the performance left questions.
Zambia frustrated the Sables and forced them into a goalless first half. For long stretches, the visitors looked comfortable.
Nyakufaringwa was not hiding from that reality.
“I am definitely not happy,” he said. “I’m going to speak about myself first.
“I hadn’t played rugby in a very long time and I would rate it as a bad day in the office.”
He did not stop there.
“As a team, there are boxes we checked and some boxes we didn’t check,” he said. “We had new and young faces and the boys played well. But a win is a win and I will take that any day. This is international rugby. We will take the win any way it comes.”
Now attention shifts south.
South Africa A await June 28 when the Sables take centre stage before the Springboks face the Barbarians at Nelson Mandela Bay.
The challenge gets bigger. The spotlight gets brighter. But Goofy does not sound worried.
“I personally haven’t felt any pressure,” he said. “The boys are hungry. We know what it means for Zimbabweans.
“We are not going there to make numbers. We want to compete. We want to put our hands up and say we are here to be a force for Zimbabwe.”
For a man who once hated rugby with everything in him, that last line probably says more than anything else.
Sometimes life has strange humour.
The short, chubby kid who wanted nothing more than to sit and eat eventually grew into a giant.
Then rugby found a way to make him love it back.
