Vincent Tshituka vividly recalls the moment when his dream of playing for the Springboks began to take spine-tingling shape.
His Sharks teammate and Bok colossus, Eben Etzebeth, sent him a WhatsApp screenshot of the Springbok team group, which showed a certain name had been added. He told Vincent, “check your messages.”
That was a year ago, and Tshituka made his debut for South Africa days later in the Test match against Italy in Pretoria. This Saturday, Tshituka will earn his second cap in the Nations Championship match against Scotland, also in Pretoria.
A few weeks back, Vincent and his younger brother, Manu, played alongside each other in the South Africa ‘A’ team against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha — a special moment for the Tshituka family, which includes two more rugby-playing brothers. Manu’s debut for the Boks is not long away after his recent inclusion in the Springbok alignment camp.
The stock of the brothers continues to rise with their signing of a deal with Roc Nation Sports International, the US-based marketing giants who identify special talent and use their considerable muscle to grow their athletes on and off the field. Prime examples of the company’s superstars are Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi.
It is a staggering achievement for a family that came to South Africa as refugees from political strife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That was 20-years ago when Vincent (now 27-year old) and Manu (26) were children.
Their parents endured hardships as they tried to feed their kids. Vincent has spoken about there being “no money” in the home, with his father scavenging at rubbish dumps to find items to resell.
The brothers grew up playing football in their backyard, but when they went to high school at Northcliff in Johannesburg, there was no football. Instead, they gave rugby a shot, finding success that grew at the same pace as their muscular frames.
“Each player we represent, we want to know everything about them. We have found a lot of our guys have stories that nobody knows about,” said Roc Nation president Michael Yormark.
“Few know that Manu and Vincent were refugees who only became SA citizens last year. When we recruit, we want great players, but as important as us wanting great players is us wanting great people.”
“If you think about the Boks, ever since 2019 you could see the fight in the players, that edge, that purpose, that warrior backgrounds give them. It lends itself to performing well at the highest level because pressure on the field is nothing compared to the pressure they have felt at some time in their lives away from sport,” Yormark added.
The Tshituka brothers made their breakthrough in first-class rugby at the Lions, but it is at the Sharks over the last two years that they have flourished and caught the eye of Bok coach Rassie Erasmus.
Roc Nation head of rugby, Matt Norton, says the Tshituka brothers, both flankers, are part of the long-term planning as some of their star players reach the twilight of their careers.
“Manu played over 1 000 minutes last season for the Sharks and can play six and eight, similar to Siya,” Norton said.
“He is dominant in the contact and is an athletic ball carrier. It is the same with Vincent. He is a bit taller and can cover lock, but Manu is a natural succession plan for Siya.”
Not long before Vincent debuted for the Springboks, the brothers had just about given up their Springbok dream because endless red tape at Home Affairs was preventing them from receiving South African citizenship. It took a petition from SA Rugby president Mark Alexander to Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber for the citizenship to finally come through.
Also on the Roc Nation books are rising stars Haashim Pead (Lions), Oliver Reid (Stormers), Jaco Williams (Sharks), and Jonathan Roche (Stormers).
