Dr Tom: Fort Hare's biggest fan
As the inaugural Varsity Shield season heads into its final round of league fixtures next week, the image of Fort Hare Vice-Chancellor Dr Mvuyo Tom fervently supporting his team throughout probably best sums up the success of this new tournament.
Dr Tom is a rugby man through and through and his support and enthusiasm for the Varsity Shield should not come as a big surprise to anybody that knows him.
A flank forward in his day, Dr Tom completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Natal as it was then known, and moved on to Wits University where he did his post-graduate studies.
However, there is no question where his allegiances lie these days - more particularly in the Varsity Shield.
"When these three universities are playing I always say to my boys that they must recall that I was a student at all three," Dr Tom told varsitycup.co.za. "But my blood now is black and gold, no doubt about that."
But the rugby aside, Fort Hare's Vice-Chancellor has been delighted with the positive impact that the Varsity Shield has had on the university and its community.
He explained: "The Varsity Shield has made a huge impact in sports in general but in rugby in particular. The impact is not only with the internal stakeholders, it has been felt throughout the municipal area and beyond these boundaries because people come from far to watch rugby here.
"Because we also have the curtain-raisers, the players around here that play for the clubs around Alice - the Varsity Shield has also made an impact on them," he added.
In terms of his obvious personal interest in the all-new competition, Dr Tom explained that it went beyond his own love for the game of rugby.
"I am very passionate about rugby, but I like supporting my students in anything they take part in," he said.
"Be it cricket... be it football... but, of course, for now, being a new competition, the Varsity Shield has taken up most of my time. I like supporting them, I like getting there and encouraging the players that they can also be the best in the world."
When probed about his own rugby-playing days, a modest Dr Tom revealed that he had played at first team level at Fort Hare and at representative level while he was studying in Durban.
He recalled: "I played rugby here way back in 1973, I played for the Blues. Rugby has always been my favourite sport, as a player and as a spectator.
"I played rugby incidentally for the University of Natal as well but at that time in the black section. I played rugby in Durban for our first team and I played rugby for Natal - SARU Natal, that was the non-racial SARU of the time," he remembered.
The enthusiastic support for the Varsity Shield in Alice has been one of the standout features of the new competition, and Dr Tom believes that there are greater things on the horizon for Fort Hare rugby.
"The support that we have recieved from the community has been wonderful and, in fact, some of the Border Rugby Union people are saying that perhaps Border should start playing their rugby games here," he enthused.
"People know that we are competing with the rest of South Africa, of course we are not in the Varsity Cup yet but that is what we are gunning for in the long-term.
"People are aware that there is a chance that their own children around here can play at that level, and once they start playing at that level the doors are open," he added.
The Vice-Chancellor was over the moon with Fort Hare's thrilling 28-22 victory over his old university, UKZN, on Monday night and is hopeful that his team will do well when they travel to Bellville to take on UWC in both sides' final league matches next week.
He said: "Although the lead changed hands many times in the game and, I was crossing my fingers throughout, it was a wonderful result in the end.
"Hopefully we will play and, thereby, finish well against the University of the Western Cape on Monday."
With the support of someone like Dr Tom, it is easy to understand just why the Blues are such a passionate Varsity Shield side.
After all, that's what this great tournament is all about; pride and passion and shaping better players and people in the process.
By Michael de Vries
| Add a comment |
