Errol Tobias facts for kids

Errol George Tobias (born 18 March 1950) is a famous former rugby union player from South Africa. He made history as the first player of colour to play in a test match for the South African national team, known as the Springboks.

This happened between 1981 and 1984, a time when South Africa had a system called apartheid. Apartheid was a set of laws that separated people based on their race. Errol Tobias's selection was a big step. It helped open the door for other black players like Avril Williams and later Chester Williams to join the national team. Errol played in 21 games for the Springboks, and six of these were important test matches.

Early Life and Rugby Journey

Errol Tobias was born on a farm called Klipdrift. This farm is located near Caledon in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

In August 1978, Errol played as a fly-half for a special team. This team was called the South African Country Districts XV. It was a multi-racial team, meaning it had players of different races. They played against the American Cougars. Errol scored two tries and helped his team win 44–12. This game was important because it showed that players of all races could play together.

Playing for His Country

Errol Tobias's journey to play for his country started in 1971. He was chosen for the Proteas team, which toured Britain. The Proteas team was part of a rugby group for "Coloured" players in South Africa. At that time, rugby was separated by race.

In 1974, Errol played for the South African Proteas against the touring Lions team. He scored all his team's points in that game.

In 1979, Errol was part of the first multi-racial South African Barbarians team. This team toured the United Kingdom. He also played for the Barbarians against the British Lions in 1980. His teammates included famous players from other countries and other players of colour.

In October 1980, Errol was part of the Springbok team that toured South America. This tour was kept very secret. Many countries did not want to play against South Africa because of apartheid. The team played matches in countries like Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile.

Making History: First Test Match

In 1981, Errol Tobias was chosen to play for the Springboks against the Irish team. This was a huge moment! He played as a centre in the first test match at Newlands Stadium on 30 May. A large crowd of 37,000 people watched. Errol made a great play, passing the ball to Rob Louw who then scored. The Springboks won the game 23–15.

Later in 1981, Errol was called up for the Springbok tour to New Zealand. This tour was very controversial. Some people thought he was only chosen because he was a player of colour. Anti-apartheid groups in New Zealand protested against the tour. They even called Errol names. Inside the team, some players were more accepting of him than others.

International Test Matches

Errol Tobias played in six official test matches for the Springboks. Here are the details:

No.	Opposition	Result	Position	Points	Date	Ground
1.	Ireland	23 - 15	Outside Centre		30 May 1981	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
2.	Ireland	12 - 10	Outside Centre		6 June 1981	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
3.	England	33 - 15	Fly-half		2 June 1984	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
4.	England	35 - 9	Fly-half	6 (1 try, 1 conv.)	9 June 1984	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
5.	South American Jaguars	32 - 15	Fly-half	10 (2 conv., 2 pen.)	20 October 1984	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
6.	South American Jaguars	22 - 13	Fly-half	6 (2 pen.)	27 October 1984	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

Life After Rugby

After his rugby career, Errol Tobias worked as a brick-layer. He later started his own construction company. He is married to Sandra and has two sons, Errol and Sidney. Both of his sons also played rugby. Sidney played for the Western Province Under-21 team and later for the Sale Jets in England. Errol Junior played for the Old Greys club in Bloemfontein.

Errol Tobias also worked as a rugby commentator. People liked his clear way of speaking Afrikaans.

Becoming a Mayor

On 8 November 1995, Errol Tobias became the first black mayor of his hometown, Caledon. He was part of the Caledon Community Association, a group that wanted to improve life for local people. His group won many seats and worked with the African National Congress (ANC). As mayor, he wanted to bring people together. He did this by organizing rugby training camps for everyone.

He later lost his position as mayor in 1996. However, he continued to serve as a town councillor. He worked with the new mayor for the good of the town.

See also

In Spanish: Errol Tobias para niños

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 515