Shock and disbelief, followed by a stream of tributes, has dominated the social media networks of rugby fans in Pretoria since Saturday morning after it became known that the remarkable sports writer, Dan Lombard, had died suddenly at the youthful age of 31. Lombard’s life story has gripped the sports community of Pretoria for more than a decade, since this brave young man began to gain fame as a colourful sports writer, who especially had a great fondness for rugby. A freak accident during a rugby practice at Pretoria Boys High School in Lombard’s matric year in 2008 left him paralyzed to such an extent that he was classified as a C5 quadriplegic. After that, his life as a disabled person and his positive outlook on life inspired many people. Lombard refused to be bitter and he created opportunities for himself by being involved in the sport that was responsible for his condition. After completing his rehabilitation, Lombard returned to Pretoria Boys High to finish his matric. He then enrolled at the University of Pretoria for a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, but after he started writing a very successful rugby blog called ‘Rugby from a Wheelchair’, he changed his course at university and eventually obtained an honours degree in journalism. Lombard taught himself to type on a cell phone by using only his tongue and he later became so proficient at it, that he could even produce match reports with strict deadlines by writing in this way. With the assistance of several donors, who helped him with transportation and the funding of a personal assistant, he was able to pursue a successful career as a sports journalist. Although he has experienced several setbacks with his health over the past decade, Lombard has been able to overcome them time and time again and he has remained positive about his future throughout. Last week, however, he had to be admitted to hospital for a procedure to remove kidney stones and after it was initially expected that it would only be a routine operation, he experienced another setback. Despite desperate attempts by doctors and medical staff to save his life, Lombard passed away on Saturday morning. He is survived by his parents, two sisters and three brothers. No funeral arrangements were known at the time of going to press.  

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