Errol Tobias: Pure Gold by Errol Tobias

Errol Tobias: Pure Gold (First Edition Springbok Rugby Memoir)

The Autobiography of South Africa's First Black Springbok, Told from Caledon Childhood to the Green and Gold

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Errol Tobias: Pure Gold
• Author: Errol Tobias
• Editor: Johannes van Zyl
• Publisher: Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 2015
• ISBN-13: 9780624072409
• Edition Details: First Edition, First Impression. Standard softcover release, edited by Johannes van Zyl.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated paperback (perfect bound) with a colour photograph of a Springbok player on the front cover, green spine lettered in white and orange.
• Physical Format: Trade paperback format, 121 pages. With a section of black and white and colour photographic plates.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: The illustrated wrappers are clean, with sharp corners and clean edges. The green spine is straight and clean, with bright white and orange lettering. The top edge and fore-edge are clean. No creases or tears to the covers.
• Interior: The text block is clean and bright, free of foxing, markings or highlighting. The binding is tight. The photographic plate section, in black and white and colour, is clean; the handwritten caption within it is part of a printed club photograph. The title page and adjacent leaf show slight waviness near the gutter and top edge, with a small crease to the paper near the top of the page.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Errol Tobias: Pure Gold, published by Tafelberg in Cape Town in 2015, is the autobiography of Errol Tobias, selected for the Springboks in 1980 and widely recognised as the first black Springbok. He traces his life in rugby from his childhood through to the great occasions in the green and gold.

The memoir covers his tours of South America and New Zealand, the latter overshadowed by protests, and his friendship with Rob Louw. It deals frankly with the controversy that surrounded his selection during South Africa's years of sporting isolation, and closes with his views on today's quota system.

Tobias made history in 1981 as the first non-white South African to start a Test match for the Springboks. His own account is a valuable first-hand record of a pivotal moment in South African sport and society, and a worthwhile addition to any collection of Springbok rugby literature.

Author Profile: Errol Tobias

Errol George Tobias was born on 18 March 1950 in Caledon, in what is now the Western Cape. He played 15 games for the Springboks, six of them Test matches, and retired in 1984 having scored 22 points in all.

After his playing career he worked as a rugby television announcer, and he has also taken commentary roles on radio and television. Pure Gold is his autobiography and an Afrikaans edition, Suiwer Goud, has also appeared.