He believes in the intangible, that conviction transcends all earthly confines. He often turns his Bible to Hebrews 11 verse 1, for there he finds the motto he lives by. ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’

It is the needle that guides NWU’s Timothy Qumbu’s compass. The 30-year-old former Free Stater – he matriculated from Sasolburg High School, completed his Btech at CUT and B.A. degree in Human Movement Sciences at UFS – is in a jovial mood. And, so he should be. Timothy recently returned from a very successful trip to the United Kingdom as the strength and conditioning coach of the South African Women’s XV rugby team.

‘It was great!’ he exclaims. ‘As is usually the case in the UK, the weather wasn’t very sunny, there was a lot of drizzle and cloud cover but the temperatures were lovely. The girls haven’t played international rugby since 2014 and the team only had about a week-and-a-half to prepare, so our expectations weren’t that high.’
That needn’t be. The team impressed all and sundry with three monumental performances. On 14 October, they beat the British Army 27-5 in what proved to be the biggest upset since Isandlwana. They then faced the England Academy side in Aldershot four days later with the hosts boasting a number of England internationals who played in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August. The sides were tied 12–12 at the break before the Academy won 48–12. The final tour fixture was against the same team on Sunday, 22 October when the South Africans narrowly lost 15–12 thanks to a penalty at full time. ‘There were so many good points to take from the tour and I’m absolutely positive that our women’s fifteen-a-side game will only improve.

We dominated our opposition physically; in fact, we made them look like softies,’ he jokes. ‘We just need to focus more on our skills and fitness. I know that one day, we can be the top-ranked team in the world.’

When not next to a rugby field, Timothy – or Tim as he refers to himself – is a lecturer at the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sports Science at the NWU’s Faculty of Health Sciences. His wife of two years, Bronwen, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the campus in Potchefstroom.
‘I feel so blessed to be able to make my living here at the University,’ he says proudly.
Tim is also an avid golfer, having taken up the game three years ago. ‘I wish I had discovered the game sooner in my life. There are a lot less bumps and bruises than in rugby.’
He would know. As a rugby player, Tim was a promising fullback with pace to burn but, at u.19 level, he tore his anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral knee ligaments. He did not get the proper rehabilitation care and that meant an end to his rugby career. Somewhat…
‘I always dreamt about playing for the Springboks, now my goal is to be the Springbok’s sports scientist. I still want to be there, just in another capacity. I believe God has a plan for all of us. He tests us but he also guides us. I trust Him.’ Hence Hebrews 11:1.
Tim describes himself as deeply religious and his involvement in his church and its youth programme (‘I love giving back to the youth’) is one of his life’s great passions. ‘I believe in God and I believe Christ died for us.’
And then there is rugby. ‘I appreciate the camaraderie of rugby the most. And I love the diversity. There is a place for everyone on a rugby team, from the biggest to the thinnest. There is a place for 15 different body types and that is unique to rugby.’