Agherdien, a stalwart of the Port Elizabeth Lads RFC and the Eastern Province Rhodes Trophy team, was selected to represent the South African Coloured Rugby Football Board or the Coloured Springboks against the pride of the South African Bantu Rugby Board (later the SA African RFB) in the first-ever inter-racial tests between the national teams of the two Boards in 1950.

This was the just reward for years of hard work, sacrifice and sustained effort at a time that representative opportunities for Black South Africans were non-existent.

The 1950’s inaugurated the start of a golden era in Black South African history. Driven by the determination of its administrators to secure international recognition and overseas test rugby for its charges.

These ‘tests’, by all accounts, served as an alternative to formal international competition and as preparation for their planned entry into international rugby. According to S.M. Siwisa (of the SABRFB), the inter-racial test matches represented a chance “to go into action, to save civilization” whilst for F. Landman, the SACRFB spokesman it was the final stepping-stone towards full international recognition.

Similarly Imvo Zabantsundu implored the Black rugby fraternity to do everything in their power to build a pool of truly competitive players (“hefty, hulking and mobile type of forward”) since “no Springbok pack can be built of jockeyweight forwards”.

Since the test coincided with the playing of the Rhodes Trophy final between the Western and Eastern Province, the SACRFB granted permission for Agherdien and two of his other EP team mates to be released from the national team in order to represent their province in the season’s national championship encounter.

Given the historic nature of the first inter-racial test, this incident most probably rated as one, if not the only incident in South African rugby history where provincial honour triumphed over national honour. To add insult to injury, EP despite the availability of three of their key players still did not succeed in capturing the coveted Rhodes Trophy.

Robbed of the opportunity to make his official debut in the national jersey, Agherdien was forced to wait until the fourth test in July 1952 at the De Beers Show Grounds in Kimberley to win his cap in the company of leading and legendary players such as Fatty Bohardien, Johnny Neethling and Pinky Julius.

The match which ended in a 3-all draw had a satisfactory conclusion for the young player since he maintained his place in the test side for the next encounter on the Show Grounds Port Elizabeth. This time, Agherdien and his team mates enjoyed a 5-3 victory after a hard-fought match which also gave the SACRFB a 2-1 lead in the series.

Over the ensuing years, as the struggle to send an All Black Springbok team overseas continue, Agherdien continue to ply his trade in the Rhodes Cup tournament. When plans for a proposed tour to Fiji was announced for 1954, Agherdien, a wily flanker, lose out from a place in the ‘all-Black’ side which had the absolute cream of the two Boards such as Harold Kruger (City & Suburban), Robert Maduba (SABRFB) and Bohardien in its ranks.

With younger players beginning to emerge, the Eastern Province team became his final stomping ground.

After his retirement from playing, Agherdien ventured into coaching and in addition to coaching on provincial level, national honours soon followed. In 1988 as a reward for his consistent and high-level contribution to player success in the SA Cup competition in the wake of the shelving of the Rhodes Trophy, Agherdien was appointed as national coach of the SARU XV for a festival match against the Western Cape Country Districts at Mooreesburg.

His team which included the likes of Allister Coetzee and Irven October dispatched the Country lads by 31-10. This stint was followed by a next appointment to coach to national side against an Eastern Cape XV in 1990. Yet again, his charges led by Coetzee brushed of the challenges of the Eastern Cape rural unions by 37-10.

Following the historic meeting in October 1988 between the ANC, SARU and SARB about rugby unification, Agherdien became a founding member of SARU’s National Coaching Committee tasked with paving the way for the future integration of the coaching structures between the two rival bodies.

He also took two SARU players, Irven October and Ronnie Korkee took to England as guests of Blackheath Rugby Club, where they were given playing and coaching experience.

He remained an integral part of this structure throughout the negotiations process and after unification, became the Rugby Development Manager of the united and non-racial EPRU.

Courtesy of SARU