Swallows Rugby Football Club is marking its 115-year legacy this weekend with a special rugby tournament in Mdantsane. The club, known as a factory of black Springboks/" title="Springboks">Springboks, was founded in 1911 and ranks among the oldest surviving black rugby clubs in South Africa.
Club president Zuko Matyeshana, speaking to the Daily Dispatch, said the club is older than the ANC. “We are older than the oldest political party, the ANC,” he stated. The milestone will be celebrated with a two-day tournament on 27–28 September 2026 at the NU1 Mdantsane field near Sisa Dukashe Stadium.
The Story of Swallows RFC – From 1911 to 2026
According to Matyeshana, the club’s badge carries the Latin motto Pari passu, meaning “equal footing” or “moving together in equal step.” He told the Daily Dispatch that this founding vision has carried Swallows through both World Wars, the forced removals from East Bank to Mdantsane in the early 1960s, and the entire apartheid era with its segregated rugby structures.
“In the Eastern Cape — in fact SA — it is among a few clubs that survived both World Wars,” Matyeshana said.
Independent historical research confirms that Swallows was established in 1911 at the East Bank Location in East London and is regarded as the oldest Xhosa rugby club in the Border region. Academic studies place it among a small group of black clubs that maintained continuous operation across the colonial, apartheid and democratic eras.
Factory of Black Springboks
Matyeshana highlighted the club’s long record of player development. “From the Border Bulldogs to SA U20, SA A, Springboks in the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, the club has done immense work in producing players,” he told the Daily Dispatch.
Among the most prominent products is Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi. Other names linked to the club include Preston Vuyisile “PV” Maneli, Thandi August, Thobile Mtya, Patsa Matyeshana and current Border Bulldogs head coach Dumisani Mhani.
115th Anniversary Tournament Details
What: Swallows RFC 115th Anniversary Rugby Tournament
When: Saturday and Sunday, 27–28 September 2026
Where: NU1 Mdantsane field, Sisa Dukashe Stadium area, Mdantsane
Confirmed teams, as listed by Matyeshana, include Breakers, Moonlight, Fort Beaufort United, Sibanye, Black Eagles, Cape Aloes, Lukhanyiso, Winter Rose, Hurricanes, Imithishane, Red Fire, Wallabies, WSU All Blacks and Swallows Mooiplaas.
“It should be a big event because of what the club has done for the region,” he said. The tournament follows the Border Clash in May 2026, when Swallows faced Old Boys in the Border Super League at Sisa Dukashe Stadium.
Context: Swallows and South Africa’s Oldest Black Rugby Clubs
While Matyeshana’s comments focus on Swallows’ own survival and contribution, broader research into black rugby history places the club within a longer lineage. Union Rugby Football Club of Gqeberha, founded in 1887, is widely recognised as the oldest continuously operating black club in the country. Winter Rose RFC of Makhanda followed in 1890 and remains active. Other early clubs include Orientals (1894) and Lily White (1894). These teams operated under parallel structures such as the Eastern Province Native Rugby Board and later the South African African Rugby">African Rugby Board, sustained by Community fundraising and volunteer administration.
By inviting Winter Rose and other regional sides this weekend, Swallows is both celebrating its own 115 years and acknowledging that deeper shared history.
The people of Mdantsane are expected to turn out in numbers to honour a club that has remained a source of pride and opportunity for more than a century.
