Springboks dream comes true for Congolese refugee Tshituka
The remarkable rise of flanker Vincent Tshituka from a child refugee to the Springboks Test team will be completed on Saturday when he faces Italy in Pretoria.
He fled to South Africa from the Democratic Republic of Congo with his family in 2002 to avoid politically-induced violence.
Advertisement
Later, while studying at the University of Johannesburg, he fell in love with rugby. It was an unusual choice given he came from a country where football is the dominant sport.
Tshituka caught the eye of scouts from the Johannesburg-based Lions, one of the four major rugby franchises in South Africa, and quickly established himself in the matchday 23.
In 2022 he moved to another of the 'big four', the Sharks in Durban, and became part of a Springbok-stacked pack.
But to be eligible for the Springboks he had to become a South African citizen, which the 26-year-old achieved recently.
He debuted for South Africa against the Barbarians last weekend and scored two tries in a 54-7 triumph. However, it was an exhibition match, so no caps were awarded.
Advertisement
But the clash with Italy is an official Test and no Springbok will be prouder than Tshituka when he runs on to the Loftus Versfeld pitch.
"Playing for the Springboks in a Test is the greatest sporting honour available to me. I have dreamt for many years of wearing the green and gold," he told reporters.
"Fleeing Congo was a traumatic experience, particularly for my wonderful parents. After arriving in South Africa, my father would go to rubbish dumps, find items of value, and sell them to feed us.
"There was little money, but we survived because our parents displayed incredible love for their children. We owe them so much.
Advertisement
- 'Disadvantage' -
"I did not go to a rugby-playing school, which was a disadvantage. But at university I made up for lost time and it is hard to describe exactly how I feel before facing the Italians.
"The more difficult your background, the more you appreciate the opportunities life presents. Saturday is going to be an extraordinary special day for me and my family," he added.
Tshituka is one of only three Springboks in the matchday 23 who were not part of the 2019 or 2023 Rugby World Cup-winning teams.
The others are scrum-half Morne van den Berg and tighthead prop Wilco Louw as South Africa start a 13-Test schedule that ends in Wales in late November.
Advertisement
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has shown respect toward Italy by fielding a team lackking only two regular first choices -- injured flankers Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Captain Kolisi also missed the Barbarians match and outside centre Jesse Kriel debuts as a Test captain.
"Everyone expects us to beat Italy, but they were really competitive in the first two rounds of the 2025 Six Nations Championship," said Erasmus.
"Thereafter, they struggled with their player depth as they do not have such a large pool of players. They will be ready for us, though, and we dare not underestimate them."
Advertisement
Italy coach and former Argentina fly-half Gonzalo Quesada has made 10 changes to the team that started a narrow loss to Ireland last March in their final 2025 Six Nations outing.
Despite the defeat, the Azzurri dodged the wooden spoon for the second straight season having earlier beaten Wales in Rome.
Top-ranked South Africa are nine places above Italy and have scored an average of 55 points in winning seven previous home matches between the countries.
No where is the gap between the teams more evident than experience. Twelve of the Springboks matchday 23 boast more than 50 caps while Italy have just four half-centurions.
dl/ea
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
44 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Wales losing streak up to 18 tests after losing to Japan in boiling Kitakyushu
KITAKYUSHU, Japan (AP) — Wales lost again. The longest losing streak by a major test rugby team in the professional era was extended to 18 matches when Wales lost to Japan 24-19 on Saturday. Wales held its 19-7 halftime lead until the start of the last quarter when Japan hatched tries by uncapped backs Ichigo Hakasusu and Halatoa Vailea — both converted from wide out by Seungsin Lee — and led a scrappy match for the first time from the 70th minute. Japan deliberately picked a 2 p.m. kickoff in the day's worst heat and humidity and Wales waned in the second half — it couldn't score a point — as Japan's undying intent to play at a high tempo clicked at just the right time. Japan beat Wales for only the second time ever, the last was in 2013, and will climb above Wales in the next test rankings for the first time since the rankings were introduced two decades ago. They meet again next weekend in Kobe. ___ AP rugby:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Wales losing streak up to 18 tests after losing to Japan in boiling Kitakyushu
KITAKYUSHU, Japan (AP) — Wales lost again. The longest losing streak by a major test rugby team in the professional era was extended to 18 matches when Wales lost to Japan 24-19 on Saturday. Wales held its 19-7 halftime lead until the start of the last quarter when Japan hatched tries by uncapped backs Ichigo Hakasusu and Halatoa Vailea — both converted from wide out by Seungsin Lee — and led a scrappy match for the first time from the 70th minute. Advertisement Japan deliberately picked a 2 p.m. kickoff in the day's worst heat and humidity and Wales waned in the second half — it couldn't score a point — as Japan's undying intent to play at a high tempo clicked at just the right time. Japan beat Wales for only the second time ever, the last was in 2013, and will climb above Wales in the next test rankings for the first time since the rankings were introduced two decades ago. They meet again next weekend in Kobe. ___ AP rugby:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Wales losing run extends to 18 defeats after late capitulation against Japan
Wales wilted in the Kitakyushu heat to lose 24-19 to Japan and suffer an 18th successive Test defeat. First-half tries from Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers, as well as a penalty try and a Sam Costelow conversion, gave Wales a 19-7 interval lead and hopes of a first victory since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup 21 months ago. Advertisement But Japan dominated the second half and tries from Takuro Matsunaga, Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea, plus nine points from the boot of Seungsin Lee, piled on more misery for Wales. Brave Blossoms boss Eddie Jones said he had hoped for a hot day to 'run Wales off their feet' and the oppressive conditions – with the temperature above 30 degrees Celsius as well as high humidity – meant water breaks in each half and an extended interval. A slippery ball produced countless handling errors and there was often little rhythm to a disrupted contest that took over two hours to complete. Taulupe Faletau, Nicky Smith, Ben Thomas and Blair Murray survived from the 68-14 thrashing to England in the Six Nations as interim head coach Matt Sherratt made 11 changes. Advertisement Number eight Faletau – the fifth-most capped Welshman – made his 109th appearance but it was largely an inexperienced line-up with six starters having fewer than 10 caps. Wales' fall from grace had left them in 12th place on World Rugby's rankings table, one spot above Japan, and it was very much a meeting between two teams in transition. There was a worrying start to the contest as Ben Carter took a hit to the side of the head inside 30 seconds. Carter slumped to the ground after attempting to make a tackle and there was a lengthy stoppage before the second row forward was taken away on a stretcher. Wales' Ben Carter suffered an injury setback (David Davies/PA) Wales immediately shrugged off that blow as Faletau exploited space profited from a line-out ploy to send Thomas over with a well-timed pass and Costelow converted. Advertisement Japan were on the backfoot and struggling to get out of their own half, but scored from their first attack after 16 minutes as winger Kippei Ishida sliced through midfield to set up Matsunaga and Lee's kick restored parity. Wales hit the front again with a penalty try after Nakakusu, who had replaced the injured Matsunaga moments earlier, deliberately slapped the ball away as Josh Adams closed on Kieran Hardy's chip by the try line. Nakakusu suffered further punishment with a yellow card, and Wales took advantage of their extra man after Japan had found touch from the kick-off. Faletau broke away from a scrum going backwards and Hardy, Costelow and Johnny Williams moved the ball on for Rogers to scamper into the corner. Advertisement The tide turned in the second half as Amato Fakatava saw his effort ruled out for a Shinobu Fujiwara knock-on, but Japan were not to be denied after going through the phases. Eddie Jones' Japan emerged victorious (David Davies/PA) Rogers slipped off a tackle and Nakakusu dived over with Lee adding the extras and soon reducing the deficit to two points with a penalty. Japan got their noses in front for the first time as replacement Vailea barged over and Lee's sparked celebrations that continued until the final whistle. The two-match series will conclude in Kobe next Saturday.
