THE ROAD TO ‘GREAT’ IS PAVED WITH STONES

THE ROAD TO “GREAT” IS PAVED WITH STONES Having witnessed SA’s most historic sporting moments, Songezo Nayo is the ideal person to comment on UWC’s ascendence into the big leagues

By Lyndon Julius

It’s no mean feat following in the footsteps of great leaders like Professor Julian Smith, who held top management positions not only at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Stellenbosch University but also as the longestserving president of the Western Province Rugby Football Union since unification took place in 1992, Tobias “Oom Tobie” Titus, and Dr Danny Jordaan, the president of the South African

Football Association (SAFA) and a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. Yet, the former managing director of SA Rugby, Songezo Nayo, joins these elite figures as former UWC alumni that held and continue to hold strong leadership positions both within SA and on an international level.

Having started at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Nayo soon found himself at the heart of the country’s most significant sporting era when the unification talks got underway and the nation was on the verge of becoming a democracy. He cut his teeth at UWC during this time, says Nayo, while holding various positions within the Sports Administration department and leadership offices.

But it was his close relationship with his peers and mentors that led Nayo to the pinnacle of an imperative and very important moment in South African sports. He recalls the unequivocal influence of the legendary Prof Jakes Gerwel on his thinking and how, later, this relationship would help facilitate and develop his leadership style and abilities. Prof Gerwel’s involvement at one of the defining moments in sports history — the unification talks held in Kimberley in 1992 — helped usher in a new era.

“The late Prof Jakes Gerwel undoubtedly had the biggest impact on me and where I ended up,” he recalls proudly. “Many people may not be aware but Prof Gerwel played a big role in the achievement of unity within the university sports movement.

“When talks fell apart between the SA Universities (representing

white universities) and the SA Tertiary Institutions Sports Union (representing the black varsities, colleges and technikons), it was Prof Gerwel, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee of University Principals, that restarted negotiations, chaired them and saw them to fruition.

“During my time at UWC, the country was on an accelerated march towards democracy. Every sphere of society was making its contribution to the struggle to defeat apartheid. The University found itself at the centre of this struggle and, as part of the student leadership core, I had the privilege to experience many moments and activities of the time. The most notable of these moments was the unification of the universities’ student sports organisations to form the South African Students Sports Union (SASSU), where I proudly held the position of founding national chairperson.”

From here, Nayo would go on to top leadership within SA Rugby’s commercial arm.

“As part of the leadership of the student sports organisation, and with my playing background in rugby, I had the privilege of representing the Universities’ Rugby Association at the founding of the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) in Kimberly in 1992. When Mr Silas Nkanunu took over the presidency of SARFU and asked me to join the administration in late 1999, I already had a history with SARFU. I joined in January 2000 as the general manager responsible for transformation, eventually progressing through the ranks to managing director of the commercial wing, SA Rugby.”

Despite having these significant and monumental moments etched in his memory, it was meeting his wife during his time at UWC that tops his list of most unforgettable moments — and rightfully so as the couple has been married for more than two decades

“I met my wife at UWC and we have been married for 24 years. This is my greatest achievement at the University and carries my

THE LATE PROF JAKES GERWEL UNDOUBTEDLY HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON ME

fondest memories. I also formed life-long friendships at UWC, friendships that endure to date,” he smiles.

UWC also became the first previously disadvantaged university to gain promotion to the premier intervarsity competition, the FNB Varsity Cup and Nayo stresses the importance of this position, including how the inequality that still exists in rugby needs to be rectified. Seeing UWC feature amongst the country’s top university teams is a strong message of this that needs to continue, he says.

“I was very proud when UWC earned its place in the Varsity Cup. It was long overdue for this to happen. It was always my view that institutions like UWC and Fort Hare, both of which have a strong rugby heritage, had a major role to help transform the narrative on transformation.

“The prevailing narrative suggests that black and coloured people are new to rugby and therefore need to be ‘developed’. And so, by occupying our time with discussions on development and the lack of support for it, we are side-tracked from the real conversation that needs to be had about transformation. Chester’s [Williams] work in helping UWC gain promotion to the Varsity Cup was the biggest statement in affirming the need for transformation — a radical change in how black and coloured players are viewed in rugby, not as people needing development but as people good enough to stand and compete on their own terms.”