SA Rugby magazine SA Rugby magazine – Latest South African rugby news

South African rugby news, interviews, videos and more. Covering the Springboks, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cheetahs and Lions, as well as schools and club rugby.

Primary Menu Search
SA Rugby magazine
  • Home
  • Springboks
  • Vodacom URC
  • Videos
  • Cars
    • Cheap cars for sale
    • Used Cars For Sale
    • New Cars For Sale
    • Demo Cars For Sale
  • Deals
    • One Day Deals
    • Nationwide Deals
      • Deals in Cape Town
      • Deals in Johannesburg
      • Deals in Durban
      • Deals in Pretoria
      • Deals in Port Elizabeth
    • Accommodation Deals
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Food and Drink Deals
    • Experiences
    • Health and Wellness Deals
You are here: Home ∼ Black legend: Fagmie Solomons

Black legend: Fagmie Solomons

Fagmie Solomons Fagmie Solomons
Standard published on December 11, 2018

In the 17th instalment of a series on black rugby legends, JOHN GOLIATH looks back at the career of former Saru captain and flyhalf Fagmie Solomons.

The Bo-Kaap is a part of Cape Town that seems to automatically stimulate the senses.

The streets are narrow and parking scarce. So when you find a place to park and take a walk to your desired destination, you are greeted by the bright colours of the houses and the sweet aroma of a curry on a stove. You rarely walk past one of the shops without savouring the freshly baked koeksisters.

The icy northwesterly will kiss you straight on the lips in the winter months, while the Muslim prayers can be heard through the speakers of the nearby mosque throughout the day.

One of the Bo-Kaap’s famous sons, Fagmie Solomons, has been exposed to these sensory delights since birth. However, as a sportsman, he seemed to have more than just five senses. As a ridiculously talented rugby player and cricketer, he was blessed with vision, flair and extraordinary leadership qualities.

Solomons at the opening ceremony of the Springbok Experience museum in 2013

Two years ago, then Springbok coach Allister Coetzee was quizzed about who were the most naturally gifted and skilful sportsmen he has ever seen. Legendary Springbok scrumhalf Fourie du Preez’s name was the first out of Coetzee’s mouth. The second one was Solomons …

‘Former Western Province flyhalf Fagmie Solomons was a very skilful person. His passing, his kicking and his time on the ball … Those are the hallmarks of a great sportsman,’ Coetzee said.

Indeed, walking into the 61-year-old Solomons’ Bo-Kaap residence, you quickly realise this is no ordinary man. This is a legend.

To put things into perspective, in today’s era Solomons would be a combination of Handré Pollard and AB de Villiers – a great rugby player and a top cricketer.

Solomons began his senior provincial career as a 19-year-old for the non-racial Western Province Cricket Board and the Western Province Rugby Union in 1977. He began his rugby career as a quicksilver scrumhalf, before going on to be one of the best flyhalves – black or white –South Africa has ever produced.

In the summer months, Solomons was a classy middle-order batsman, who played with some of the greats of the non-racial game. It’s astonishing that he could get into that WP cricket team as a teenager in the 1970s when legends such as Lefty Adams, Rushdie and Saaid

Solomons with former Bok captain Morné du Plessis

Magiet and Braima Isaacs were in their prime.

Solomons’ bedroom wall is filled with memorabilia and pictures of his achievements, which include captaining the South African Rugby Union (Saru) team while playing outside former Eastern Province scrumhalf Coetzee. But that room wasn’t always filled with balls and cricket bats. In fact, if his mother had her way when he was a toddler, his gift to the world would not have been of the sporting kind.

‘My mother was musically inclined and my father was obsessed with rugby and cricket. This room in which we are sitting now was filled with musical instruments and the other room with sports balls. When I started to crawl, my mother always tried to steer me into this room. But she was unsuccessful,’ Solomons says with a laugh.

‘From a young age I wanted to play sport and I wanted to be the best. If I stepped on a field and a player was better than me, I wanted to prove – even just for that day – that I was the better player.’

He certainly became the best flyhalf and one of the most recognisable sportsmen in the stable of the South African Council on Sport (Sacos), whose motto of ‘no normal sport in an abnormal society’ was the driving force to end apartheid in South Africa.

In fact, Solomons was even approached by the Federation and the whites-only SA Rugby Board, which was led by Danie Craven, to cross over. But ‘Fluffy’ refused to make the switch, and in 1987 went on to lead the non-racial Saru team in their first match outside the country, in Namibia.

‘I was offered money to play for the Federation, but I declined because we believed in “no normal sport in an abnormal society”,’ Solomons says.

The Saru team that played in Namibia in 1987, with Solomons third from the
right in the middle row and Allister Coetzee third from the right in the front row

‘We were guided by administrators, who believed that sport must play a big role in defeating apartheid, and today I believe we should rename Athlone Stadium the Hassan Howa Stadium and the Green Point Track must be named after Noortjie Khan. They deserve that honour, because of their sacrifices.

‘Today I can say I have no regrets. The sacrifices we made were important.’

But it was the Bo-Kaap that initially shaped Solomons. His flair and skills were honed in those narrow streets, his senses stimulated by his surroundings.

‘My brother used to fill a sock with newspapers and we would use that as a ball at three, four years old. We played wherever there was space to play,’ says Solomons. ‘I think I developed a lot of skills back then, unknowingly. The foundation was perfect for me.’

– This article first appeared in the July 2018 issue of SA Rugby magazine

Salie Fredericks

Temba Ludwaba

Randy ‘Yster’ Marinus

Temba Ludwaba

John Noble

Dougie Dyers

Makaya Jack

Irven October

Broadness Cona

Jack Juries

Daniel September

Clive Thomas

Omar Daniels

Julian Smith

Ikraam Moerat

Posted in Features, SA Rugby mag Tagged black legend, Fagmie Solomons, Features, SA Rugby mag

Post by SA Rugby magazine

← Previous Next →

Rassie’s Boks of tricks is great for the game

Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks should be lauded for becoming world rugby’s great innovators,...

Boks treated Italy to a show

South Africa intensity and Test-match theatre to blow Italy away and reclaim...

World Rugby deserves a rebel league

Rebel rugby is coming, and for players it's the deal Test rugby...

Razor’s edgy All Blacks must get real

The All Blacks, once comfortable in their own skin, now seem to...

Dupont the greatest? Hold your GOATs!

Antoine Dupont will finish his career as one of the game's most...

Ode to World Cup final

The ball was in play for 38 minutes in the 2023 Rugby...

Please Boks, never change

The world champion Springboks have to evolve their personnel, but not their...

Mr. Rugby on the Modern Game

Thanks to the wonders of artificial intelligence, we can now go beyond...

Rassie ref hom in die rooi

Rassie Erasmus is hardly the embarrassment that some are making him out...

Boks need to make mentality adjustment

The Springboks need to lose their underdog mentality, writes SIMNIKIWE XABANISA in...

Kolbe’s worth every penny

Cheslin Kolbe’s big-money move to Toulon should be welcomed as a massive...

Top six: Best and worst foreign imports

SARugbymag.co.za identifies six of the best and worst foreign players to play...

VIEW MORE
  • RECAP: Junior Boks vs Los Pumitas
  • LIVE: Springboks vs Italy
  • LIVE: AUNZ XV vs British & Irish Lions
  • LIVE: All Blacks vs France
    Haashim Pead 29 June 2025 Timothy Rogers Getty Images
  • Watch: There’s no substitute for Spead

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Competitions
  • Videos
  • Player Features
  • Joburg Etc
  • African Insider News
  • Rugby Championship
  • Super Rugby
  • Currie Cup
  • Varsity Cup
  • Gold Cup
  • Schools
  • Schools
  • SA Cup
  • Six Nations
  • Champions Cup
  • World Cup
  • Challenge Cup
Contact Us on WhatsApp

Connect with us on WhatsApp

CAPE TOWN OFFICE: 36 Old Mill Road, Ndabeni, Maitland, 7405, Western Cape > Telephone: (021) 530 3300 > Fax: (021) 530 3333
©Copyright 2025 SA Rugby magazine

Primary Menu

  • Home
  • Springboks
  • Vodacom URC
  • Videos
  • Cars
    • Cheap cars for sale
    • Used Cars For Sale
    • New Cars For Sale
    • Demo Cars For Sale
  • Deals
    • One Day Deals
    • Nationwide Deals
      • Deals in Cape Town
      • Deals in Johannesburg
      • Deals in Durban
      • Deals in Pretoria
      • Deals in Port Elizabeth
    • Accommodation Deals
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Food and Drink Deals
    • Experiences
    • Health and Wellness Deals

×