“I think Umbhoxo is going to be a major work. It is full of insight and originality
and breathes freshness and ‘feel’ based on real ‘Afrikan’ (as you define it) insider
knowledge. Sport and society, sport and life, become one in this story, as it should”
Professor Andre Odendaal, writer in residence and honorary professor in History
and Heritage Studies at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

“UMBHOXO: Making Rugby an Afrikan Game provides a much-needed addition
to the literature on rugby in South Africa. The authors present a history of black
rugby heretofore marginalised in histories of rugby in South Africa. From the
origins to today, when the Springbok national team is captained by a black rugby
player, this book supplies the missing link to our understanding of rugby across all
sectors of society in South Africa.”
Professor John Nauright, author of Long Run to Freedom: Sport, Cultures and
Identities in South Africa and Rugby and the South African Nation.

“UMBHOXO will serve two mutually reinforcing purposes. First, it goes a long way
towards filling the gaps in this historiography, covering more ground than any
single work about black rugby. As important, though, it will provide far-reaching
suggestions for future work. Ironically, by answering so many questions, the authors
and contributors to this book are creating even more questions that they and,
perhaps more importantly, future scholars will pursue. Good work fuels good work,
and this is precisely such work, compelling and necessary, sufficiently theorised
… but more importantly, grounded in solid research using rich and wide-ranging
evidence and telling important, compelling stories with rich, crisp writing.”
Professor Derek Catsam, professor of history, and Professor Kathlyn Cosper
Dunagan, professor in the Humanities, University of Texas-Permian Basin, Odessa,
Texas and senior research associate, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa.

“From detailing under-recognised contributions from individual players and
organisers to documenting how school and club teams helped popularise the
sport and exploring rugby’s local histories in various cities and provinces to
demonstrating how black rugby challenged racial oppression, UMBHOXO: Making
Rugby an Afrikan Game offers a cohesive and comprehensive history of black
South African rugby. The book’s contributors must be commended for this rich and
insightful work. It is now undeniable that black rugby has always been significant
and must be widely recognised. This text is a must-read for anyone interested in
South African sports history.”
Professor Tyler Fleming, University of Louisville, Kentucky USA.