IN CONVERSATION WITH TOBIAS TITUS

IN CONVERSATION WITH TOBIAS TITUS The legendary rugby administrator and UWC alumnus officially retired from the SA Rugby executive this year but still has some pearls of wisdom to share

By Harriet Box

Now that you have resigned as a managing member of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), what does the future hold for you?

To me, this is goodbye but not farewell. I will still be available in support of rugby at the club level in an informal capacity. I enjoyed my time and experiences within the rugby industry and I’m open to offer help where I can.

How did you get started in rugby?

I grew up on a farm outside De Doorns in the Boland and my parents were teachers on a farm outside Worcester. I grew up poor and what we had, we shared with our community of farm labourers.

The Hex River Valley at the time (early 1950s and 1960s) was marked by exceptionally cold winters, the “dop system” and farm labourers living in extreme poverty. My parents’ involvement with upliftment and education in the community, church and at club-level rugby really inspired me. I saw how rugby was a force that brought the labourer community together. My father, Titus William Titus, was the school principal at Sandhill and was a prominent rugby player. He would go on to be the administrator after my grandfather.

Club rugby was the only level of rugby available to us and, at the time, my father played for Villagers Rugby Club and was an influential rugby figure back then.

When did you obtain your UWC qualifications?

In the Sixties, I obtained a lower Secondary Education diploma from UWC. I followed this up with a part-time, distance-learning Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University then a post-grad education degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT). While I was studying for my BA through UWC, I was also teaching at John Ramsey Secondary School in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town. Back then, the school was in its second year of existence.

How did your career develop from this point onwards?

At the end of my six years in teaching, I accepted a position at the then-Peninsula Technikon (now known as Cape Peninsula University of Technology or CPUT) in Bellville. The post involved fundraising for students and was similar to that of the dean of students.

The job included taking care of student organisations such as the Student Christian Council and student sports, amongst other duties. This is where I became involved in the South African Tertiary Institutions Sports Union (SATISU), an organisation for non-racial student bodies. My general message to students was that they were the leaders of the future and they should not allow challenging circumstances to suppress their will to achieve.

Tell us about your involvement in rugby and administration at UWC?

While at UWC, I played as a guest player and was regarded as one of the smaller players on the team. As a student, the varsity rugby team would come out to the farm where I grew up and my mother would be concerned about how huge the other rugby players were compared to her son. She would regularly advise me that I should rather become involved in rugby administration, just like my grandfather and father.

I later became the chairperson of UWC Rugby Club after first being involved as its coordinating administrator. During those days, UWC was literally in the bush

with no sports facilities such as changing rooms. The bushes were both our change rooms and bathrooms.

Professor Jakes Gerwel had a great influence in obtaining suitable amenities for the sports department at the University. I will always be very grateful to him. He wasn’t just the brilliant intellectual everyone remembers him as, and his humility impressed each and everyone around him, too.

Do you have any regrets?

I always believed that freedom would one day come. I also believed that, as young men, we had to drive social change. One of my regrets is that some of the young men of our time never had the opportunity to see the “promised land”. Some of them never lived to see the words of the late Prof Bothma come to life, that one day the son of the labourer and the daughter of the farm owner would sit in the same pew and receive their university degree.

I also regret how apartheid succeeded in conditioning some people to still use the k-word. How is it that this is still the case after so many years? Have we still not learnt anything about becoming better human beings after more than 20 years of democracy?

What were the highlights of your career?

In short, our first meeting with the late president Nelson Mandela and being granted the opportunity to speak to him about changing the country through sports as well as his reaction and positivity towards our goal of achieving this. Another highlight is receiving the UWC Chancellor’s Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, which I hold dear to my heart. UWC didn’t want to know whether you were rich or poor; the University just believes in you as the student and wants you to reach your best potential.

Which truths has life taught you?

• If you do come out on top in life, let it not be as a result of stepping on somebody else. • Don’t twist the truth for the sake of being popular. • Hold on to your religion and not bitterness — there is no hope of a future if you keep holding on to it. • Do not allow your negative circumstances to dictate your future.

Outside of rugby, who are the most important people in your life?

My wife, Audrey, is from Richmond in the Great Karoo. She is a rugby fanatic herself and still doesn’t miss a rugby match. It’s probably this characteristic and the fact that her father was just as involved in rugby that kept me out of hot water most days.

In my lifetime, there was a rugby meeting almost every evening and I can recall one evening when we had to go out as a couple and couldn’t make it. I was threatened that I would return home one evening and only find a rugby ball for supper. She still likes watching every rugby match, even though I don’t always bother watching.

We have two children: Antonio (39), who is our independent soul, and Wendell (42), who has an upbeat and interactive personality. I must thank my wife and children for their sacrifice and for the contribution they allowed me to make to the broader community.