Blue Bulls pay tribute to beloved former president after his death
A former president of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, who later made his mark as a rugby administrator at SA Rugby, has died this past weekend.
The Blue Bulls Rugby-union (BBRU), as well as various individuals and organizations in the South African rugby community, have been paying tribute to the former president of the Blue Bulls, Boet Fick, who passed away over the weekend.
The popular and beloved rugby man, who until fairly recently was still actively involved as a rugby administrator in the game, was 86 years old.
Fick led the union in a time of great success on the field and during his era as president, the Bulls dominated SuperRugby with three titles in four seasons.
The charismatic, humble, and soft spoken Nicolaas Hendrik Fick, in rugby circles affectionately known as “Oom Boet”, served as president of the BBRU from 2005 to 2010, having deputized before that from 2002.
He first became involved in rugby administration through the club ranks in the erstwhile Far North province (Limpopo Blue Bulls) from the early 1970s, before advancing to the position of Vice President of the Blue Bulls General Council. He then advanced to the top post at the Bulls.
Photo: Johanna de Vos
After he stepped down as president of the Blue Bulls, he was elected to the SA Rugby Executive, serving for a period of eight years before finally stepping down from rugby-administration in 2018. After his tenure with the Blue Bulls, he was also appointed lifelong honorary vice president at the union.
Willem Strauss, current President of the BBRU, shared a few fond memories.
“Oom Boet was the absolute definition of a ‘rugby-servant’ – loving, respecting, and serving the game at every opportunity he got. He will go down in history as an unsung hero at Loftus, doing the hard yards behind the scenes to make sure our beautiful game continued to grow and flourish. He always had a few kind words and advice for me in my role and those around him in our system. I remember him joking on the day I accepted the role as president, saying that he won all the major cups during his term, and now I needed to go forward and do the same,” said Strauss.
“We knew each other for a little over 30 years, from the days of Far North and even South-Eastern Transvaal Rugby. In that time, he shared many valuable lessons not only in sport administration but also personally. He will be sorely missed by all at Loftus. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family and loved ones. His passion for the team, badge and Loftus ran deep… and we have no doubt that his legacy will live on what we do,” Strauss concluded.
Fick is survived by his wife, Madga, children and grandchildren.
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