Lizo Gqoboka
Lizo Pumzile Gqoboka (born 24 March 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the  in the United Rugby Championship. His regular position is prop.

Career

Youth

Gqoboka's high school in Tabankulu (a village near Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape) did not play rugby and he concentrated on athletics (running 100m in 11.6 seconds) and soccer.

Gqoboka only started playing the sport aged 19 when he moved to Durban to study human resource management and there joined Durban Collegians Sports Club. He started off playing as a Number Eight and a Lock, but eventually moved to prop. A player for the  at that time, Milo Nqoro, helped Gqoboka secure a trial at the Port Elizabeth-based side in 2011 and impressed sufficiently to make three appearances for the  side during the 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

Eastern Province Kings

In 2012, Gqoboka earned a senior contract with the  and was included in their 2012 Vodacom Cup squad. He made his first team debut against  on 16 March 2012, coming on as a late substitute. He started his first senior match against  a fortnight later.

In the second half of the season, Gqoboka made his Currie Cup debut against the  in Kempton Park, scoring a try on debut as the Kings ran out 37–20 winners, and made his first start the next week against the . He made a total of four appearances during the round-robin stages of the 2012 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 the , but wasn't involved in the final as the Kings won the trophy by beating the  26–25. He also played in the second leg of the promotion/relegation matches against the , but could not help his side win promotion to the Premier Division, losing 69–20 on aggregate.

Gqoboka was initially named in the  Super Rugby training squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season, but was later released. Instead, he played some Varsity Cup rugby with the  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 the 2013 Vodacom Cup and helped them qualify to the quarter-finals of the competition. Against the  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 to reach the semi-finals of that competition for the first time ever, but they lost that match 39–13 to the .

Gqoboka played in 15 of their 16 matches during the 2013 Currie Cup First Division season, as they reached the final of this competition for the fourth consecutive season. He started their final against the  in Nelspruit, but the Kings lost the match 53–30.

With the Kings not playing Super Rugby in 2014, Gqoboka – along with fly-half George Whitehead – joined the  for pre-season training prior to the 2014 Super Rugby season, but failed to make their final squad. Instead, he made five appearances for the  during the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. He was selected in the starting line-up for the  side that faced  during a tour match during their 2014 tour to South Africa. He played for almost an hour in the match as the Kings suffered a 12–34 defeat.

With the Eastern Province Kings promoted to the 2014 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 against , which ended in a 16–35 defeat. Despite playing for an Eastern Province Kings side that performed poorly in the competition, he did weigh in with a try against the  to help earn his side a losing bonus point. 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 the Springboks in September 2014 alongside Nizaam Carr and Seabelo Senatla. He was once again invited to a Springbok training camp the following month.

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 joined Pretoria-based side the .

South Africa 'A'

In 2016, Gqoboka was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring England Saxons team. He came on as a replacement in their first match in Bloemfontein, but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners. He also played off the bench in the second match of the series, a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons in George.

Honours
 Currie Cup winner 2020–21
 Pro14 Rainbow Cup runner-up 2021
 Bulls Currie Cup Player of the Year 2022

References

External links
 

1990 births
Living people
People from Ntabankulu Local Municipality
Xhosa people
South African rugby union players
South Africa international rugby union players
Rugby union props
Eastern Province Elephants players
Bulls (rugby union) players
Blue Bulls players
Montpellier Hérault Rugby players
South African expatriate rugby union players in France
Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape
Stormers players