Ebrahim Patel, the inaugural president of the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) and one of the driving forces behind the push for rugby unity in the late twentieth century, died of a stroke early Monday morning at the age of 78. Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, who paid tribute to Patel and the role he played in South African rugby on Sunday with a group of former players and administrators, said he was a “pioneer of non-racial rugby.” After more than a century of the game being divided along racial lines in South Africa, rugby unity was achieved almost 30 years ago, on 20 March…