Winston “Win” Whitear
Some men pass through a place. Win Whitear belonged to his. He lived his whole life in Pietermaritzburg, and for much of it Maritzburg College was at the centre of that life: first as a schoolboy, then as a teacher, coach and counsellor, and always as one of its own.
As a boy his first love was soccer. He came to rugby late, in his last years at school. He made up for lost time and earned his place in the unbeaten 1st XV of 1959, where he was remembered as “a deadly tackler”. In that final year he was coached by the great Skonk Nicholson, and the two formed a close bond. Something of Skonk stayed with Win for the rest of his life.
Before he came back to College, Win lectured at the teachers’ training college in Pine Street. Many teachers in this province still remember him from those days. He helped shape the people who would go on to shape others.
In 1988 he returned to College, and for seventeen years he gave the school everything he had. His rugby practices were known for their rigour and their thinking. He was a shrewd tactician and, in many ways, ahead of his time. He put his psychology degree to good use, motivating his players with notes, letters and careful mental preparation long before anyone talked about sports psychology. He was very competitive but always fair. He knew how to handle young men, his own and the opposition’s alike, with their best interests at heart and a sparkle in his eye.
Many would say his greatest gift was quieter than rugby. As a counsellor he walked alongside boys between thirteen and nineteen, at the moment in life when they most needed someone to listen. Most of those conversations will never be told, and that is as it should be. Hardly a College boy from his years doesn’t speak of him with respect and real fondness. The school recognised all of this with a Friends of College award. Those who knew him best called him Iswayi Umhlabathi, “the salt of the earth”: confident, yet humble enough to draw on others.
Then there was the river. Win loved fly fishing, and above all he loved the people in it. He took special joy in introducing schoolboys to the sport. What he lacked in technical skill he more than made up for in enthusiasm, fun and a sense of adventure, and it was catching. He served on the committee of the Natal Fly Fishers’ Club for many years. He was well known for his boyish requests to open a beer before the meeting had quite finished. For years he was a faithful presence at the Natal Fly Dressers’ Society, beer in hand and eyes bright, admiring the work at the vice and asking questions out of real interest.
He fished with delight. He feasted on stories of fishing trips, wild characters, boyhood mischief and good clean fun. As late as December 2020 he was still telling College rugby stories with relish.
Win passed away at the turn of 2021 at a time when COVID lockdowns robbed many of us the opportunity to say goodbye properly.
Go well, Win. Tight lines.
