The Bulls’ CEO, Edgar Rathbone, lifted the veil during a press conference at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday morning about the entire saga surrounding the disappearance of the Bulls and Springbok winger, Sbu Nkosi.

Rathbone first read a statement, in which he discussed the entire saga from start to finish and provided a detailed perspective of events.

From the statement and later discussion with the media, it became clear that a confluence of circumstances all contributed to his mental breakdown. Among other things, there were aspects such as Nkosi’s recent move to Pretoria and his adaptation to a new living space after several seasons in Durban with the Sharks. Then there was the injury he sustained on Sunday 30 October in a URC match against the Sharks and his consequent inability to accompany the Springboks on their European tour after initially being selected for the team.

After everything became too much for Nkosi, he consequently decided to go to his family – more specifically his father’s house in Witbank – which Rathbone described as a “safe space” for him. This was the address where he was finally found on Monday.

According to Rathbone’s statement, it was clear – and he later emphasised this when questioned – that the Bulls are taking this situation seriously as a case of an employee who “as a person and not a rugby player” got into trouble with regard to his mental health and that it is not currently treated as a disciplinary matter of employer versus employee.

Rathbone emphasised that the cases of the Australian rugby captain, Michael Hooper and the English cricket star, Ben Stokes, both of whom also struggled with their mental health in the recent past, are proof that professional sportsmen can indeed develop problems in this regard.

Hooper was forced to take a three-month “sabbatical” to recover, while Stokes decided to scale back and retire from one-day cricket altogether.

“We sometimes forget that rugby players are not robots or machines, but ordinary people of flesh and blood. However, their lives are in the public eye and there is a lot of pressure on them to perform in their profession,” he said.

Rathbone was asked if the Bulls are considering taking disciplinary action against Nkosi and if the termination of his contract is currently a consideration. He said that the Bulls will firstly assist Nkosi in his recovery process and that they will support him in his decisions about his future, even if it means that he no longer wants to be a contracted Bulls player.

We are happy to confirm that Sbu Nkosi has been found safe and sound. The Vodacom Bulls, along with SSG, located Sbu and CEO, Edgar Rathbone, spoke with him in person.
Read more, here: https://t.co/lQh5hstdK4 pic.twitter.com/mW7Z6KlYfo

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 5, 2022

When Rathbone was asked directly if Nkosi’s mental health problems could have been caused by the abuse of any substances, he still put the player’s well-being and recovery first.

“I can’t speculate about anything. What I saw on Monday was a person who is hurting and mentally in trouble. We will therefore assist him to get back on his feet,” the Bulls CEO replied.

The press conference also brought perspective to the confusion that arose during the saga regarding the involvement of the South African Police and the cooperation of Nkosi’s family with the Bulls during the weeks he was missing.

Rathbone, who was clearly disappointed with the way the police handled the matter, explained that the Bulls were shown the door by the police when they wanted to report Nkosi as missing. According to him “legal technicalities were cited as the reason” why the Bulls had to leave the police station without success.

Rathbone said they were advised that only immediate family may report a person as missing.

The case was apparently further complicated due to Nkosi’s “complicated family environment”, as Rathbone described it.

However, the Bulls have refused to abandon their search for Nkosi.

“We know the realities of our beautiful country and that elevated our concerns for the well-being of Sbu,” Rathbone explained their situation.

Ultimately, the Bulls’ security partners, SSG, gave Rathbone and the management the necessary facilitation and assistance to help with the tracking process of Nkosi. SSG’s own investigative unit reportedly assisted in following up leads from the public, which made it possible to successfully track him down.

** Article amended

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