 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Lizo Pumzile Gqoboka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1990-03-24)24 March 1990 (age 35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tabankulu, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (254 lb; 18 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ntabankulu High School,Mount Frere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lizo Pumzile Gqoboka (born 24 March 1990) is a South African professionalrugby union player who currently plays for theStormers in theUnited Rugby Championship.[1] His regular position isprop.
Gqoboka's high school inTabankulu (a village nearMount Frere in theEastern Cape) did not play rugby and he concentrated on athletics (running 100m in 11.6 seconds) and soccer.[2]
Gqoboka only started playing the sport aged 19 when he moved toDurban to study human resource management and there joinedDurban Collegians Sports Club. He started off playing as aNumber Eight and aLock, but eventually moved to prop. A player for theEastern Province Kings at that time,Milo Nqoro, helped Gqoboka secure a trial at thePort Elizabeth-based side in 2011 and impressed sufficiently to make three appearances for theEastern Province U21 side during the2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
In 2012, Gqoboka earned a senior contract with theEastern Province Kings and was included in their2012 Vodacom Cup squad.[3] He made his first team debut againstBorder Bulldogs on 16 March 2012, coming on as a late substitute.[4] He started his first senior match againstFree State Cheetahs a fortnight later.[5]
In the second half of the season, Gqoboka made hisCurrie Cup debut against theFalcons inKempton Park, scoring a try on debut as the Kings ran out 37–20 winners,[6] and made his first start the next week against theBorder Bulldogs.[7] He made a total of four appearances during the round-robin stages of the2012 Currie Cup First Division to help the Eastern Province Kings finish top of the log. He also appeared in the semi-final of the competition, where his side won 50–27 against theLeopards,[8] but wasn't involved in the final as the Kings won the trophy by beating thePumas 26–25.[9] He also played in the second leg of thepromotion/relegation matches against theFree State Cheetahs, but could not help his side win promotion to the Premier Division, losing 69–20 on aggregate.
Gqoboka was initially named in theSouthern KingsSuper Rugby training squad for the2013 Super Rugby season, but was later released.[10] Instead, he played someVarsity Cup rugby with theNMMU Madibaz where he made three appearances to help the university side reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time ever. Gqoboka then played a further six times in the2013 Vodacom Cup and helped them qualify to the quarter-finals of the competition. Against theBlue Bulls in the quarter-finals, the Kings were 31–13 down with less than ten minutes to go, before three late tries – including a dramatic injury time try from Gqoboka – help them win the match 34–31[11] to reach the semi-finals of that competition for the first time ever, but they lost that match 39–13 to thePumas.[12]
Gqoboka played in 15 of their 16 matches during the2013 Currie Cup First Division season, as they reached the final of this competition for the fourth consecutive season. He started their final against thePumas inNelspruit, but the Kings lost the match 53–30.[13]
With the Kings not playingSuper Rugby in 2014, Gqoboka – along withfly-halfGeorge Whitehead – joined theSharks for pre-season training prior to the2014 Super Rugby season,[14] but failed to make their final squad. Instead, he made five appearances for theEastern Province Kings during the2014 Vodacom Cup competition. He was selected in the starting line-up for theEastern Province Kings side that facedWales during a tour match during their2014 tour to South Africa. He played for almost an hour in the match as the Kings suffered a 12–34 defeat.[15]
With the Eastern Province Kings promoted to the2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, Gqoboka made his first appearance in the Premier Division of this competition on 8 August 2014 when he was named in their run-on side for their opening match of the season againstWestern Province, which ended in a 16–35 defeat.[16] Despite playing for an Eastern Province Kings side that performed poorly in the competition, he did weigh in with a try against theBlue Bulls to help earn his side a losing bonus point.[17] He eventually made seven appearances in the competition as his side finished bottom of the log.
Gqoboka's personal performances didn't go unnoticed, however, as he earned an invitation to train with theSpringboks in September 2014 alongsideNizaam Carr andSeabelo Senatla.[18] He was once again invited to a Springbok training camp the following month.[19]
Gqoboka left the Kings at the end of 2015, after the non-payment of player salaries allowed him to disengage himself from his contract. He joinedPretoria-based side theBulls.[20]
In 2016, Gqoboka was included in aSouth Africa 'A' squad that played atwo-match series against a touringEngland Saxons team.[21] He came on as a replacement in their first match inBloemfontein,[22] but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.[23] He also played off the bench in the second match of the series, a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons inGeorge.[24]
