Makazole Mapimpi

Makazole Mapimpi (born (1990-07-26)26 July 1990 in Mdantsane, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who currently plays as a winger or a centre with the Kings in Super Rugby and the Border Bulldogs in the domestic Currie Cup.^[1]

Career

Youth

In 2009, Mapimpi was a member of the Border U19 team that played in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship.

Border Bulldogs

He was one of several amateur club players brought into the Border Bulldogs provincial set-up at the start of 2014 after the professional side was declared bankrupt.^[2] He was included in their squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition and made his debut in their opening match against a Sharks XV. Border lost the match 24–46, but Mapimpi marked his first class debut with a try shortly after half-time.^[3] He also started in their 6–60 loss to Eastern Cape rivals Eastern Province Kings^[4] and their next match against Kenyan invitational side Simba XV, scoring the Border Bulldogs' second try in that match to help them to an 18–17 win, their only victory of the competition.^[5] He also started the remaining four matches in the competition, scoring his third try of the campaign in their match against the SWD Eagles,^[6] as the Border Bulldogs finished bottom of the log.

He was retained for their 2014 Currie Cup qualification campaign and he made his debut in the Currie Cup competition by starting their opening-day 5–52 defeat to Griquas.^[7] He missed their next match against the Boland Cavaliers,^[8] before starting their other four matches in the competition. However, the Border Bulldogs lost all six of their matches to finish bottom of the log and qualified to the 2014 Currie Cup First Division. Mapimpi once again started all five of their matches, including their first match against the Falcons, which turned out to be the Border Bulldogs' only victory of the season as they ran out 19–14 winners.^[9] He scored tries in consecutive matches against the SWD Eagles^[10] and a Leopards side that eventually finished top of the log^[11] but could not prevent the Bulldogs from finished bottom of the log with a single win all season.

Mapimpi returned in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, but ended up on the losing side in their first six matches in the seven-match competition. Mapimpi was the star performer in their final match of the season against the Boland Cavaliers in Alice;^[12] he scored a hat-trick of tries and, with regular kicker Coyi Banda unavailable for this match, also took over the kicking duties and slotted three conversions and a penalty. He finished the match with a personal haul of 24 points in the Border Bulldogs' 29–5 victory to help them overtake the Boland Cavaliers on the Southern Section log.^[13]

He also scored a try three minutes from the end of the Border Bulldogs' first match of the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament, with his side causing an upset by beating Griquas – the team that won the qualification tournament in 2014 to earn a spot in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division – 20–13 in a match played in East London.

References