Gcobani Bobo (born 12 September 1979
Scrum.com) is a former

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n rugby player, rugby commentator and author. His preferred position was

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, although he had played

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

on numerous occasions, with some success due to his pace. Bobo played for the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

and the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

. In 2015 he co-wrote a rugby thriller novel titled ''The Rise of the Dagger - What Happens in a Rugby Story When Life Interrupts?''

Career

Bobo started his career as a flanker, until then Bok coach

Nick Mallet Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team, Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Sprin ...

suggested that Bobo should shift from the side of the scrum to the midfield. Bobo was selected for the South African U-19 side in 1998 and then spent two years playing for the

U-21 outfit. His performances in the then Bankfin Currie Cup earned him selection to the SA 'A' team in 2001. When he was elevated to

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, he was ready. The burly centre scored a hat-trick on debut against the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, and looked set for full Springbok colours before a knee injury at the House of Pain put paid to his short-term ambitions. Bobo was considered to have a good chance of selection for the 2003 World Cup, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a warm-up encounter – having been named in

Rudolf Straeuli Rudolf August Wilkens Straeuli (born 20 August 1963 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player and coach and currently the CEO of the Lions Rugby Company. He played in the positions of flanker and Number 8, making ...

's squad.

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri ...

realised Bobo's potential and tested him on the Vodacom Outgoing Tour in 2004. But Bobo had lost some of his enthusiasm and he lacked pace. Given a second chance by

Rassie Erasmus Johan "Rassie" Erasmus (born 5 November 1972) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the South African national team from 2018 to the end of their 2019 World Cup campaign, doubling up on his duties as ...

, Bobo returned home to the Cape to play for the

Super 14 team and has rediscovered the form that made him a Bok, partnering

Jean de Villiers Jean de Villiers (born 24 February 1981) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He started his career at Wing (rugby union), wing, but played most of his career as an inside Centre (rugby union), centre. De Villiers previ ...

. At the conclusion of the 2009 season, like de Villiers Bobo left, signing for an overseas team,

Author

In 2015, Gcobani alongside Elvis Jack published a rugby thriller novel titled ''The Rise of the Dagger - What Happens in a Rugby Story When Life Interrupts?'' The book narrates the life of Xolile Dalindyebo, a South African Xhosa rugby player who mysteriously speaks Japanese as well. Xolile fast becomes highly successful as player due to his talent and scheming. But his new found success is at the mercy of his scandalous and hidden past in Japan.

Publications

''The Rise of the Dagger''. Lulu Press, Inc, 2016

References

Sources

''"South African centre Gcobani Bobo joins Newcastle Falcons." The Guardian.'' 3 July 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobo, Gcobani South Africa international rugby union players 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Qonce Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Western Province (rugby union) players Stormers players South Africa international rugby sevens players Newcastle Falcons players Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape Rugby union centres Rugby union wings