adminSaturday Leisure caught up with Khumalo who has since quit the sport and now follows it from a distance.
The former Highlanders player whose passion saw him venture into grassroots coaching in western areas has for the last decade been earning his living as a taxi driver.
He played alongside Lameck Kasuka whose playing days were cut short due to a spine injury and has been confined to the wheelchair for the past 20 years.
The other player that Khumalo still remembers is Thulani Mbulawa.
Kasuka is the brains behind the Lamsuka Rugby Festival that seeks to promote the sport at grassroots level and every year primary schools from the western areas converge at Bulawayo’s ceremonial home of rugby, Hartsfield Stadium.
Khumalo says during his days the WesternSuburbs rugby team used to train at Lobengula Ground between New Lobengula and Lobengula West.
“I started playing rugby in 1983 when I was at Luveve High School. I turned out for Western Suburbs, which is now Western Panthers after it merged with Matabeleland Highlanders in the late 1980’s. Rugby was not popular then as soccer was but we played it.
“At club level we used to train at Lobengula Grounds which were central and we used to have guys coming from Magwegwe, Pumula, Luveve, Lobengula and other surrounding areas. Rugby has always been for people with passion and to us we just wanted to enjoy ourselves. I believe that is still the case today,” Khumalo said.
After hanging his boots, Khumalo who still had passion for the sport, started coaching schools in the western areas where he nurtured most of the players.
He said unfortunately most of his peers gave up the sport and pursued other careers.
“Rugby was not paying so players were forced to find other ways to fend for their families. Most of the guys gave up the sport but to me it was difficult to give up. I then arranged with schools so that I could coach the boys and we came up with one side from the western areas to compete with A schools.
“The youngsters were committed and what I normally told them before the games was that they shouldn’t be afraid of the white guys. I knew most of the boys had speed and that made a difference for us,” said Khumalo.
Cheetahs’ speed merchant Gardner Nechironga who plays club rugby in Germany is one of the players that passed through Khumalo’s hands.
Khumalo identified the Cheetahs winger while at Mafakela Primary School in Luveve.
Ex-Miltonian Zie Khumalo who is making waves in Botswana Rugby as an administrator and coach is also one of Khumalo’s products.
The Matabeleland Rugby Football Board development coach George ‘Coach Rollo’ Mukorera was coached by the now taxi driver at Entumbane.
Dumisani Nsingo, a Sunday News journalist was also coached by Khumalo and they won the 1994 Loi Corbi Rugby Festival while playing for Western Suburbs Select.
Khumalo is a holder of a Zimbabwe Rugby Union Level One and Two coaching certificates.
He applauded Mukorera for devoting his time in developing the sport and called on the corporate world to support the sport.
“It is good to see some of my products like George dedicating most of their time on developing the sport. He is going around western schools using his money sometimes to take rugby from the grassroot.
“For rugby to grow in Zimbabwe, we need the corporate world’s support. In Bulawayo, there are a few players in national teams because the sport is not suppported much. All stakeholders must work together to make sure that Bulawayo becomes the hub of rugby,” said Khumalo.
Online Reporter