The SA flag was hanging half-mast during the State funeral on Saturday 3 May in honour of the late Norman Mbiko, the first Black Springbok captain from Nyanga, who was laid to rest in the Maitland Cemetery.
Louis Mzomba, his protege and the first Black referee in SA Rugby, appealed to the Western Cape Government to rename the Nyanga Sports Ground after Mbiko as well as one of their team competitions. To him and many others in Nyanga he was more than a coach, but also a father, confidante and mentor .
Teammates, friends and family paid tribute to him as a player, mentor and keeping the youth of Nyanga away from social ills like drugs and gangsterism through rugby.
His eldest daughter Nomizana described her father as a loving father to all his children and how he loved each one in a unique way.
His younger brother Mlandeli shared Norman, being the fifth eldest of ten children, he would tell everyone he was the glue that kept the family together. He also added he played rugby but everyone only remembers Norman.
He made his debut for Western Province in an interprovincial competition at the age of 16 in 1964 and played for the then SA Bantu Team (later became the Leopards) against the SA Federation (Proteas) at Huguenot Sports Ground in Paarl and in the KwaFord Stadium in 1966.
In 1967, he represented the African Springboks against the SA Rugby Union at Green Point Track in Cape Town and was awarded the captaincy of the African Springboks in 1969. He captained the team until 1980 when they became known as the Leopards when they joined Doc Danie Craven’s SA Rugby Board as the South African Rugby Association with the SA Federation.
In 2000, Mbiko was appointed the first black senior national coach after unification in 1992 when he took charge of the Blitzbokke through the inaugural World Series campaign. Under his guidance the team was runner-up in Paris and fifth in the overall ranking that season.
In 2008, he coached the Uganda 7s and in 2009 he coached the SA Women’s team at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai where they reached the semi-finals.
In 2011, he served as team manager, helping the Emerging Sevens squad to nurture future Blitzboks and Springboks. His skills and drills are still used by the SA 7s coaches. He was then appointed as a coach at Lagunya and Western Province Coaching Academy until he became ill. His legacy within South African rugby is profound, he not only broke barriers as an athlete and captain but also as a mentor and coach, shaping the future of rugby.
He leaves behind his wife Pauline, nine children, 15 grandchildren and four siblings.
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