There’s a common narrative that emerges when you ask players who have made it to top level rugby in South Africa about the path they take - they start young, they are pushed by their parents, usually the father.
Then there is the road less travelled, the one that diverges from the usual, and the two Tshituka brothers, Vincent and Emmanuel, have definitely taken that route.
Ask 23-year-old Emmanuel, who is at the Emirates Lions now but will join Vincent (25) at the Hollywoodbets Sharks next year, what his dream is, and he will tell you it’s an ongoing dream - he loves seeing the pride in his parents’ eyes when he achieves at a sport that both brothers started playing relatively late.
“When I made my (Lions) debut and saw the pride in the eyes of my dad and mom, that was the realisation of a dream. For some, playing in the (Vodacom) United Rugby Championship was not a big deal but for my family it was a massive deal,” said Vincent in an excellent interview with Fudge Mabeta for the SuperSport Youtube Channel.
“During Covid my family went through a tough time, so being able to provide was massive. Seeing the pride in my dad’s eye now that he sees his sons have become men was very fulfilling. I think he always lived the dream that God would elevate our surname so everyone could see it. The dream never stops. We have achieved, but there is always more to do.”
The word ‘provide’ springs up when Vincent speaks about the same subject.
“My dream is to provide for my family. My dad was always working endless hours, it is good to be able to take some of that load and responsibility off him, and rugby has given me the opportunity to do that,” said the Sharks loose-forward.
Who knew rugby players looked so good in YMCA leathers? @Hacjivah, @CornalHendricks and Vincent Tshituka we see you... #BRPlayersChoice pic.twitter.com/rN7cPwqW2t
— Simnikiwe Xabanisa (@simxabanisa) November 19, 2019
PUTTING ACADEMICS FIRST
Yet for neither of them was achieving on the rugby field itself the driving force when they first started playing senior rugby and getting paid for it. And neither was their father that crazy about them prioritising rugby. He believed they needed to put their academics first and place their emphasis on achieving away from the field.
For both brothers, the money that came from rugby was initially all about it making it possible for them to study. Vincent was into IT, and that is what he studied at the University of Johannesburg, with his dream being to “come up with the next best app”. Emmanuel studied law at Wits and although rugby got in his way in the third year, he is still working towards a law degree.
“The only reason Vincent played at varsity, where he made the Varsity Cup team, was to pay for tuition fees,” said Emmanuel. “I wanted to be an athlete. My specialty was the 400 metres. I remember wanting to quit rugby when I was playing Grant Khomo Week. My school coach Darren Jordaan was very angry with me.”
It sounds like Jordaan had a big influence on both brothers’ rugby careers, and beyond that. Northcliff wasn’t the most fashionable rugby school, but together with another future Lions and now Pumas player Darrien Landsberg, they put the school on the map in rugby terms and gave it a reputation for always being able to punch above its weight.
But Jordaan wasn’t just interested in the players in his team for what they could do on the rugby field. He also wanted them to be good people. And that is something both brothers appear to agree on - rugby might have helped them steer their lives in the right direction.
“We were four brothers, all born just six years apart, “ says Emmanuel. “I saw my older brothers as the naughty ones. Being naughty seemed to be the trendy thing to do. Being naughty got us attention and made us cool. Then when I started doing well in rugby I thought let’s give this thing a go.”
Vincent is even more adamant about the role rugby played in keeping him on the straight and narrow.
“As I got older I got more responsible. The bad days were the days before I turned 16, and rugby was a big thing that changed my behaviour,” he says.
“I wanted to be the naughty guy at high school, but Darren made it clear he wouldn’t allow me to play if I didn’t behave. He forced us to be more respectful and have more discipline. Darren was really big on being a good person and human being in addition to being good at rugby.”
Breaking: Emmanuel Tshituka has been given a three-match ban for playing rugby. pic.twitter.com/rxCp25hKAz
— Dylan Jack (@dylmjack) April 4, 2023
STARTED OUT AS SOCCER PLAYERS
Had it not been for the family moving from the Democratic Republic of Congo when the brothers were both young, they may have been good at another sport and rugby would never have featured.
“We played no rugby in the DRC. It was not a thing at all, soccer was the main sport and rugby did not feature,” Emmanuel recalls.
“We grew up playing soccer in the backyard. At school I was a defender and Vincent was a goalkeeper. The only thing we knew about rugby was Bryan Habana. Then when we came to South Africa, my eldest brother went to Roosevelt and started to play rugby, and then to Northcliff. There was no soccer at those schools, so we were looking for the next best thing and found rugby. I was in grade 7 at the time.”
Like a lot of players, the Tshituka brothers didn’t start out in their school years in the positions they specialise in now.
“I loved playing in the backline. I was a centre and just running the ball into space. I remember running from the halfway line. When I was moved to the forwards I begged and pleaded to be able to stay in the backs,” says Emmanuel.
COACH’S PET
Vincent had a similar initiation, although his mindset appears different to that of Emmanuel.
“I started as a wing, and it was later that I decided to try loose-forward. I never had the flair most of the backs had. I had passion, I just gave it everything every time I stepped onto the field. I loved making the tackles and cleaning the rucks. Emmanuel would score 10 tries every season but I never came close to that.”
Emmanuel endorsed Vincent’s own view of himself as being a player without the flair of the other backs, and then went a bit further by portraying Vincent as something of a coach’s pet for his willingness to do the dirty work and shy away from the glory stuff.
“Vincent was boring to watch. He made no line breaks. But he was very hard working and loved by the coach. Watching him play was really cool though. The kids from Northcliff never really thought or dreamed about becoming professional rugby players. It hadn’t happened before to players from that school. But I liked the way Vincent loved the tough stuff and it was contagious.”
The brothers never played together at school. When they reached age-group provincial rugby it should have been possible, as when Emmanuel was under-19 Vincent still qualified as an under-21, but by then Vincent was already playing senior provincial rugby. It was a quick elevation for Vincent, and he wouldn’t describe it as the realisation of a dream as he hadn’t really thought about playing senior first class rugby before it happened.
“I never played for the Lions Craven Week side, I played in the Academy Week. Playing professional rugby was never tangible. No one from our group of schools had made it big in rugby or even made it to the professional level. My goal was just to be a Varsity Cup campaigner at UJ. If I just played Varsity Cup I would have felt that was a good career,” recalls Vincent.
“Then one day out of the blue Joey Mongalo called me when he was at the Lions. I was being noticed. To me it was so not possible. It was only after playing with the guys at that level that I finally started to think this could be a thing, that I could belong.”
Emmanuel seemed a bit in awe of Vincent’s achievement in making it to senior rugby so young, and it proved an inspiration to him.
“I saw how good some of the guys were when I played with them at under-19 level, guys like Wandesile Simelane, I never thought about travelling that same path they were on. So it was a surreal experience with Vincent going to the big time, before that it wasn’t something that was possible, but now we could do it.
“I remember being impressed that Vincent had Malcolm Marx’s telephone number. He was in the same room as Elton Jantjies. I couldn’t believe that was possible.”
Emmanuel Tshituka is such a baller. Him and his brother both. Play rugby with smiles on their faces. So great to see two guys just absolutely loving what they do
— A-P (@rugby_ap) December 4, 2022
NOT EASY TO GO BACK AFTER ‘FLUNKING’
It was possible though and as it turned out it presented a slight deviation to Emmanuel’s intended life path.
“I went to Wits to study law straight out of school. But getting into the law faculty was the easy part, staying there was harder,” he says.
“I did first and second year and passed, but then in my third year I was also in the senior squad at the Lions. All the travelling we had to do in the URC was new to me, so I failed my third year. I was so disappointed in myself. I took a year off from studying but this year I decided I want to give it a crack again. But it’s not easy to go back after flunking.”
By the time Emmanuel failed third year Law, his father would have accepted it as both his son’s were making it big and he could see the material benefits to their passion and ability on the rugby field. When Vincent gave up on his IT studies, it might not have been as obvious and was therefore less accepted.
“I became very passionate about my rugby after Joey Mongalo flicked the switch for me and from then on it was a case of ‘okay, now I must give it everything’,” said Vincent.
“My dad was not happy. He had the attitude of this may be what you would like but this is what is best for you (meaning his studies). I flunked but unlike Emmanuel I never went back.”
BUSINESS WORLD STILL BECKONS
Not that it means that Vincent has stopped thinking about life after and beyond rugby, and he is very focussed on establishing himself in business. And also not ever having to work for a boss.
“Ive never wanted to work for anyone my entire life. It is all about me creating something for myself. I am still planning on going back to study. I say that every year. But this time I want to study Business Management. I want to have a baby and live the experience of seeing it grow. My dad says I can do it, I just have to work extremely hard. I want to grow something from the ground up.”
The brothers always wanted to play together in the same team, but it took a while for that dream to be realised. When it finally happened it was at the highest level you could get below international.
“The first time we played together was against the Bulls at Loftus in a Rainbow Cup game. But I came off the bench very late in the game, so I count the first time as the following week, when I came off the bench a lot earlier, with 40 minutes to go against the Stormers,” recalls Emmanuel.
“We dovetailed really well in that game and it was an awesome experience for us.”
They played several games together after that before Vincent moved to the Sharks and will be hoping to do so again when they are in Durban. In the meantime though they are in rival camps, and both of them reckon it might be helpful from a family perspective that both of their teams have struggled at times.
“Maybe it does help that we are both in teams that are struggling,” says Vincent. “For me that is extra motivation. You can go through something at work, and then you can go home and dive deeper. A coach can ask, but for me there is always a different level I aspire to and a different level of accountability. There is always a superior standard that I demand that may go beyond what the team may expect.”
In 2020, Vincent Tshituka was the ultimate Hungry Lion. And therefore, the winner of the LoveChange Award for the Most Improved Player at the @BrightRockZA Players' Choice Awards! @LionsRugbyCo #BRPlayerschoice #LoveChange #Rugby #MyPlayers pic.twitter.com/4vWWaCmXo0
— MyPlayers (@MyPlayersRugby) March 11, 2021
THE DANCE TEAM FUSION X
Talking of teams, the two brothers were part of a different type of team when they were growing up, and it appears that Sharks fans can expect the levels of their team’s dance moves to go up when Emmanuel arrives from Johannesburg.
“We had a dance group growing up. It was called Fusion X. We danced at church. And at school talent shows. When there was any opportunity to perform we did that back then. We have some good dancers at the Sharks - Fez (Mbatha), Aphelele Fassi and myself. Those would definitely be the top three.”
When Emmanuel asked who the best dancers were at the Lions it was no surprise to hear him speak glowingly of the abilities of wing Edwill van der Merwe.
“Edwill has 10 dance moves for every try he scores. It is all planned. I’d say our three best dancers are Edwill, Jordan (Hendrikse) and myself,” concludes Emmanuel.
With Hendrikse also heading to the Sharks next year, the Durban franchise could be overflowing with dancing talent. With the two Tshituka brothers there though, there will also be an infusion of passion that should help the struggling Sharks to turn the corner where they both know it matters most - on the field.
Watch the full interview here: