Tributes have poured in on social media for well-known school sports photographer Thys Lombard.

According to Netwerk24, Lombard was identified on Facebook as the 61-year-old man from Stellenbosch who lost consciousness during a surfing competition at Jongensfontein on Friday (14 August).

It was previously reported that he was on a surfboard in the water during the surfing competition when the incident occurred.

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The world of rugby, and school rugby in particular, is much poorer following the passing of Lombard, a man whose lens captured generations of the game’s finest talent.

This is according to Andy Daniel, SuperSchools Sport broadcaster and presenter of the NovaNews vodcast The Rugby Factory, who was also a good friend of Lombard

Lombard and his photography featured in a Rugby Factory podcast that was broadcast in June WATCH: The Rugby Factory vodcast featuring Thys Lombard.

According to Daniel, Lombard attended Paarl Gim, where he also played rugby for the school. “He was rugby-mad and immensely proud to be an old Paarl Gim boy. After school, he worked in the wine industry for many years before deciding to focus on his photography.”

“When you turned up to a rugby match, you would always start looking around for him. He always had the biggest smile, was always pleased to see you and always had a story to tell about players he had met,” Daniel said.

Daniel described Lombard as the ultimate storyteller with his photography.

“Many South African rugby players were captured by his lens from their school rugby days. He touched past, current and future Springbok players with his photography. Players such as Markus Muller and Damian Willemse will attest to this.”

“He was an all-round great guy, rugby-mad through and through, and above all a true gentleman. He always had time for everybody and a story to tell. His smile and lens will be missed across the country.”

Marco Botha, sports commentator and presenter of Santam Megaboere on kykNET, also paid tribute to Lombard in a post on his personal Facebook page. “The world of rugby is much poorer, and especially school rugby, with his passing.”

Botha said he had seen and spoken to Lombard earlier this year and had planned to call him on Friday morning to ask whether he would photograph an Old Boys match in the Agter-Paarl that afternoon.

He described Lombard as a gentle person with a big heart and a gift for capturing memories through his photography.

iShoot Stories also paid tribute to Lombard in a post on its Facebook page.

The post said Lombard was expected to be at the Paul Roos versus Grey College match today (15 August), camera and phone in hand, doing what he loved, “but for Thys today never came.”

Lombard was reportedly declared dead at Sandstrand in Jongensfontein, near Stilbaai, on Friday afternoon after extensive CPR efforts.

Police have opened an inquest.