Black Rugby in Fingo Village and Grahamstown

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Grahamstown has always had a strong tradition of Rugby, mainly due to its number of schools and Rhodes University. However the history of black rugby has been largely ignored due to the political situation in the past.

When rugby first became popular among black South Africans towards the end of the twentieth century it played the role of keeping young people busy and off the streets. Rugby was a white-dominated game at this time, and most of the players achieved high social status and recognition.


The Beginnings.
Bush Manana was a Grahamstown resident who played rugby in Port Elizabeth and was instrumental in bringing the game to the township. The interest in the game grew and they would go and watch matches, for example Kingswood and St Andrews. This was an effective way of learning the rules and how it was played. Men from the township who wanted to play would gather on the fields outside St Phillips church and the resident Father Crabtree who was originally from England coached them. They eventually formed a side called Winter Rose in the 1890s which was the 1st Black Rugby Football Club in Grahamstown. This team was comprised of mainly local teachers from the township, because of their education they picked up the rules of the game very quickly.

During the 1880s St Andrew’s College began a policy of separating black and white students, this was due to Government segregation legislation and as a result blacks were no longer allowed to play rugby against St Andrews teams. This led to the formation in 1894 of Lilly White Rugby Football Club in 1894. So called because a female at teacher at St Andrews was s supportive of the idea. Another club was formed at this time as a result of watching the Winter Rose players. This team is most relevant to my project as they came from Fingo Village and were called The Wanderers. They were established in 1903. There emblem was a Lion to symbolize Ferocity. The Wanderers were a very strong team, wining many matches. They were also apparently all musicians which set them aside from other teams.

The Wanderers 1st team. 1903

The Wanderers 1st team 1948

In 1904 the Winter Rose side played their reserve side who eventually won the match 5-3, because of this success they decided to break away and form their own side, Easterns Rugby Football Club. An important figure head of Grahamstown Rugby, Milton 'Babs’ Roxo was a player of this team. When interviewed, he said how they used to go and watch the white schools rugby teams and name themselves after the best players. He has been watching Kingswood play since 1931!

Milton Roxo

It is important to understand the importance of Black Rugby; it was more than simply a form of recreation. Dr Manona described black rugby in Grahamstown as something which ‘humanized peoples lives; making life in the townships worth living.’

It was crucial in the community, bringing everyone together,
‘Even women were involved to an extent. Although they didn’t exactly play the game, they were still ‘members; of the various clubs. They were responsible for fund raising, providing food at team meetings, as well as support the matches.’ Dr Manona.

Milton Roxo described the hardships that faced the players, ‘We had to play on ground that was hard as tar and covered with rocks and stones.’ This was obviously extremely dangerous and painful for the players, but he said that it didn’t matter as their love for the game was more important.

Clubs struggled to generate enough funds to buy balls and Jerseys. Facilities were also a problem, the fields were in poor condition as mentioned earlier and one field, the egazini field sloped so badly that when players were tackled to the ground, they often rolled down the slope. Clearing the fields of the stones and gravel was a community effort and they would often clear them with their own farming equipment. Another significant field was the one in Tantyi Township. This field was situated on a mound and the supporters often had to run onto the field to see what was happening on the opposite side.

The Old Easter Festival was originally started from a rugby tournament where local black teams from Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, King Williamstown, Queenstown and others would come to Grahamstown to play rugby. The players would approach the Principal from the local schools, in particular the ones in Fingo and ask for accommodation and the Principal would give them classrooms to sleep in. The festival usually lasted from Friday to Monday.
They would play on many fields, Egazini, Foley’s field, at Fingo, Tantyi and Joza. It was common practice for each club to enter three teams, who would all play in their respective leagues. Each team brought its crowd of supporters, and they would wear the colour of their team. The wanderers had a maroon blazer with a lion emblem, the Easterns had a purple jersey with a white stripe and the Lily White’s had a dark blue jersey.
Mr. Curnick Mdyesha, a cousin of the previously mentioned, Milton Roxo, was President of the Wanderers in 1945, President of the Grahamstown Rugby Board, E.P. black rugby ad the black Springbok team at the time, who toured England and Australia. He spoke about the Easter Festival,

‘Women wore headgears, blouses and skirts- whose would have the colour of their clubs. For men, blazers, ties and shirts showed the colours of their club. The general public would parade their best clothes in the colours of their club. Ordinary citizens would put on their best clothes for the day.’ Curnick Mdyesha

‘As a player, we used to really enjoy the camaraderie the skills, the friendship and generally the relationships with the people from other areas. Rugby was played in a fine spirit in the festival and was different from what you play for a trophy. This was a demonstration of free rugby- we enjoyed visitors, playing in front of visitors the gay spirit that went around, and the people dressed up and applauded. The whole thing was a really wonderful activity.’ Curnick Mdyesha

The festival started to suffer pressure during the mid 70s due to the emergence of professionalism which as a result saw the focus of the rugby during the Festival shift more towards a profiteering approach.

‘….With the advent of professional soccer in TV, with people getting money and the exposure of big teams everybody started switching to soccer.’ – Curnick Mdyesha.

Milton Roxo commented how the best fields were given to soccer players as the popularity of soccer grew. This was problematic for the teams as it gave rise to a new sport that encouraged professionalism, as did Rugby under new unions. This professionalism meant that clubs needed income to support their teams and this led to paid entrance to games. The jovial, unrestricted atmosphere was replaced by one of profit making. When stadiums were opened it saw the end of the ‘festival’ open field rugby and was a regulated way of collecting money from the spectators.
‘When we later had an enclosed stadium people would charge admission, and the clubs would share that money…so that now, the emphasis switched from being purely a cultural thing for enjoyment to being something for collecting funds.’ Curnick Mdyesha.
This is a list of some of the Grahamstown Black Rugby players who made special contributions to the sport:

• Curnick Mdyesha of the Wanderers team. President of Wanderers, President of Eastern Province side and Black South African Side.
• Milton ‘Babs’ Roxo of the Eastern Rugby Football Club. Played Utility back. Very strong player and went on to be a selector for Grahamstown and Eastern Province.
• Llewellyn Sunday Maquande – Well built and Robust Forward and went on to play for the black Springboks.
• Duan Hani from Lilly White, went on to play for the Black Springboks
• Khuselo Faku of Eastern R.F.C and fly-half Dodo Planga both played for eight consecutive seasons during the 50s and 60s.
• J.D.Dlepi An excellent player. Was President of Grahamstown Rugby and Wanderers. According to Milton Roxo, ‘Whenever there was nothing to do and rugby stopped, he would get everyone together and make them play. He selected for Eastern Province for many years.

These teams are still playing now and with improved government support and funding since the end of Apartheid the game is thriving in the Township. Let’s hope things continue this way so as to provide many more years of Black rugby history.

Egazini Field where they now play rugby.

Future for Fingo?..............

View at night of the last remaining Silvertown House, still lived in today.


I will begin with a whistle stop introduction on the history of Fingo....you probably dont realise it but Fingo Village is a really important Township. It is the oldest Township in Grahamstown and title of the land was given to the amaFengu people in return for their services and bravery in fighting the British during the battles with the amaXhosa between 1846-1853.

The amaFengu who at this point were refugees were given title to 320 plots in 1858.They quickly established a community and built churches, schools and houses. They were well respected and liked by the rest of the community and adopted Christianity. Many became shopkeepers.Many did not actually live in their houses but rented them out and lived off the proceeds.

This way of life continued relatively undisturbed until the 1950's when the Group Areas Act was passed and racial zoning came into play. Many residents complained bitterly at this re-zoning and there are many original letters from local residents in the Cory Library. There is more of this story to follow in the passage regarding the history of the "Fingo Graves"

In the 1960's and 1970's people who ventured into town from the farms were forced to build squatter camps on an area known as Dead Horse Kloof, so called because it was where the carcasses of donkeys and horses were dumped. In 1977 the East Cape Administration moved these people into 58 zinc and corrugated houses on the edge of Fingo called Silvertown or Shiny Town, it was intended as an emergency camp but there is still one house there today in 2007. The photo featured above shows the type of property that people were forced to live in..

I have taken an oral history from a previous resident of Silvertown and it paints a depressing picture of what life was like living in these apalling conditions:

"When I was small girl I moved with my Grandmother, Aunts, my mother and 5 brothers and sisters to Fingo from Mission. We had to move because there were 12 of us living under one roof. We were moved to Silvertown. It was a horrible place. All the houses were made of Zinc. In the summer it was really hot as the walls and the roof was also made from Zinc but we always had to keep the door shut so sometimes it was hard to breathe. We had two small windows which were made of plastic. In the winter when it rained the floor got very wet as we had no concrete, they had no proper floor.We had no water and no toilets and no electricity. It had two rooms for all of us. Crime was very bad.You did not know if you would wake up the next day alive when you went to bed at night. There were gangs and fights every Saturday night. I hated it" ( N.MaXoma. resident of Silvertown.1972)


However, there is hope for the residents of Fingo. A new proposal has been put forward that will aim to transform Fingo and the surrounding area. This proposal will include a tourism directive that will include play areas for children as well as rugby and soccer pitches, tennis courts, arts centre, footpaths, gardens, coffee shops, stadium and a training centre for Diviners .This project is currently in the early stages but it is hoped it will begin shortly, certainly in time for all the tourists that will flock to South Africa for the 20010 World Cup. It is hoped that this project will bring much needed jobs and money into this beleagured area. They certainly deserve to be helped and hopefully this project will place Fingo and all its history firmly on the map.(1) However whether or not it is right to spend approximately 30mRand on this type of project when there are still residents living in Fingo and surrounding areas with no flushing toilets or hot water remains a subject for discussion. We would really like to know your views...Should 30m Rand be spent on recreational pursuits and tourism or could it be put to better use elsewhere in Fingo? please submit to this blog and leave your views!.................................

( 1) Makana Municipality.Sub Comitte Meeting.21.11.06)
(Vukani Greenbelt Intiative 2006)