Solly Tyibilika, the first black African to score a test try for the Springboks, has been shot dead in a Cape Town, South Africa.

The 32-year-old flanker was born in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape Province which is the heartland of black rugby in South Africa, and scored a try on his test debut in 2004 against Scotland in Edinburgh.

South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said “Solly” was a trailblazer among black African Springboks and to lose him so suddenly and in this brutal manner is very distressing.

A hard-running loose forward with tremendous stamina, Tyibilika played in eight tests and scored three tries, the last against New Zealand in Pretoria in 2006.

After playing 16 Super Rugby matches for the Sharks, Tyibilika moved to the Lions in 2007 but never settled in Johannesburg and returned to his native Eastern Cape, playing for Border between 2008 and 2010.

Story by: Selina Navuso
Source: news24