Springbok wing Sbu Nkosi safe and physically unhurt

Sbu Nkosi at a Springbok training session at Durban High School on 21 September 2022. (Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

By Craig Ray

5 Dec 2022

Bulls and Springbok wing Sbu Nkosi has been found after going missing on 11 November.

The Blue Bulls Company confirmed on Monday that star wing Sbu Nkosi had been tracked down after disappearing three weeks ago.

The Bulls said on Sunday that 2019 Rugby World Cup winner Nkosi had been absent without leave for three weeks and that a missing person case had been opened.

However, after a stressful period, the Bulls were able to share some good news — although many questions still remain.

“The Blue Bulls Company and the Bulls family are happy to confirm that contracted player, Sbu Nkosi, has been found safe and sound.

sbu nkosi found Sbu Nkosi at a Springbok training session at Durban High School on 21 September 2022. (Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

“After lengthy and extensive efforts from the Bulls, in collaboration with (private security company) SSG — who have gone beyond their commercial responsibility — at 14:02pm on Monday 5 December 2022, Nkosi was located.

“Once it was established that Nkosi was safe, unharmed and in a position to speak, Chief Executive Edgar Rathbone went into Nkosi’s home (with the permission of the player), spending alone time with him, to understand how best the company can provide him with the support he needs and what that support is.

“As the Bulls family, we are thrilled that Nkosi is safe.

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“We wish to extend a vote of thanks to all the members of the public who shared information that contributed to our search. We wish to also express a word of thanks to the international community who also joined the call and efforts in searching for Nkosi.”

The Bulls will host a press conference on Tuesday where they are expected to give further details on the circumstances of Nkosi’s absence.

While there are many questions to be answered, particularly surrounding the player’s state of mind, the overriding emotion is one of relief that he has been found and is apparently unhurt.

Prior to tracking Nkosi down on Monday, the Bulls stated: “Nkosi’s last known contact with any executive, management or playing squad member is Friday 11 November 2022.

“After numerous failed attempts, which include but are not limited to phone calls, texts messages, calls to relatives, partner and close friends as well as four house visits to his known place of residence, the company took the decision to open a missing person case with the Brooklyn Police Station (which was subsequently transferred to Sunnyside Police Station), in Pretoria on Thursday 17 November 2022.”

Move north

Nkosi moved to the Bulls from the Sharks at the conclusion of the 2021/22 United Rugby Championship (URC) season in May. It was a homecoming of sorts for Nkosi, who grew up in Barberton (which gives its name to the daisy which appears on the Blue Bulls badge) and who was schooled at Joburg’s Jeppe Boys High.

In November 2021 he failed to make the Boks’ end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere because his passport had expired and was not renewed. He played the last of his 16 Tests against the All Blacks in the Gold Coast, which the Boks won 31-29.

But it hasn’t been a seamless transition to Pretoria for the explosive wing

In October, during a Bulls URC tour to Europe, Nkosi missed a team meeting before a match against Munster. He had been given permission to meet a friend but did not return to the squad in time for a technical session. As a result, coach Jake White sent him home from the tour for breaking team protocols.

Nkosi’s Sharks career also ended in strained circumstances in Durban. A move to Pretoria seemed to be an ideal way to rebuild his career after injuries and illness set him back in the early part of 2022.

The 26-year-old also dabbled in music and released a rap single titled Off the Clock in May this year, under the stage name of Lawd Odin. DM

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