Marthinus Theunis Steyn 'Theuns' Stofberg (6 June 1955 – 23 August 2023) was a South African rugby union player who was captain of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

for four

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

between 1980 and 1984. He is remembered for his speed and his size, both remarkable for a

flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * The ...

at that time.

Early life and career

Marthinus Theunis Steyn Stofberg, named after the 6th

State President of the Orange Free State The state president of the Orange Free State had the Executive (government), executive authority in the Orange Free State. By the constitution of 1854, the president was elected by the Burgher (Boer republics), Burghers, from a list of candidat ...

Martinus Theunis Steyn Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (; 2 October 185728 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902. Early life The Stey ...

, was born in

Villiers, Free State Villiers is a small town situated on the banks of the Vaal River next to the N3 highway in the Free State province of South Africa, on the border with Mpumalanga province. It is part of the Mafube Local Municipality. It was founded in 1882 on th ...

on 6 June 1955. He attended school at Grey College in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, one of the strongholds in South African rugby. He started his provincial career playing for

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

while he was still studying at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

. When he was called up for his

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

, he was moved to

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

where he started playing for Northern Transvaal, currently called the

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...

. It was during this time that he went from strength to strength cementing his place in the national side as flanker.

Test career

Stofberg played his first test on the 14 August 1976 against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Free State Stadium The Free State Stadium (), currently known as the Toyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons and formerly known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in Bloemfontein in the Free State of South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and also sometimes for ass ...

, Bloemfontein at the age of 21. The Springboks lost the test 9-15. Stofberg played in 21 tests and scored 6 tries during this time. His first test as captain was against the

South American Jaguars South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

on the 18 October 1980 in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

where the Springboks won 22-13. His biggest test as a captain was leading the Springbok side, after the regular captain

Wynand Claassen Wynand Claassen (born 16 January 1951, in Schweizer-Reneke) is a former South African Rugby union, rugby player and Springboks, Springbok captain. Playing career He was selected as eighth-man for Blue Bulls, Northern Transvaal whilst studying ar ...

was injured, in the first test of the infamous 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand. The tour was disrupted by protesters during the matches and is now seen as one of the most important tours in rugby history. Stofberg did not play in the last of the three test series, which was stopped momentarily due to a light airplane throwing flour bombs, due to a knee injury that would ultimately end his career. Stofberg left Northern Transvaal in 1982 and moved to their arch-rivals Western Province Rugby Union where he settled and opened a

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

practice. Stofberg captained his last two international tests against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, winning both and scoring a try in the second test. After yet another series setback due a knee injury he retired from rugby in 1984 at the age of 29. He is the only player in history to have won the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

with three different teams. He won titles with Free State (

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

), Northern Transvaal (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

) and Western Province (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

). In total he played 7 finals, winning 4 ('76, '80, '82 & '83) and drawing one (1980).

Test history

Personal life

Stofberg lived in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

where he had a physiotherapy practice until 2008, before starting a business to take tour groups abroad. He fell ill while watching a test against

and was diagnosed with

eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), formerly known as allergic granulomatosis, is an extremely rare autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of small and medium-sized blood vessels (vasculitis) in persons with a history of ...

, causing him to stop practising as a physiotherapist.

Death

Theuns Stofberg died in a

traffic collision A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...

on 23 August 2023, at the age of 68.

References