Mihlali Mpafi

Mihlali Mpafi (born 17 June 1992 in Mdantsane, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Eastern Province Elephants in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge.[1] His regular position is hooker.

Mihlali Mpafi

Date of birth	17 June 1992
Place of birth	Mdantsane, South Africa
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb; 16 st 7 lb)
School	Hudson Park High School, East London
University	Damelin College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Current team Eastern Province Elephants Youth career 2010 Border Bulldogs 2011 Free State Cheetahs Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2012 Bloemfontein Police () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014–2018 Border Bulldogs 77 (25) 2019–present Eastern Province Elephants 11 (20) Correct as of 25 August 2019

Playing career

Youth / Amateur rugby

He played for Border at various age groups since the age of 12,[2] culminating in representing them in South Africa's premier high school rugby union tournament, the Under-18 Craven Week held in Welkom in 2010.

After high school, Mpafi moved to Bloemfontein to join the Free State Cheetahs. He was named in the matchday squad for all thirteen of the Free State U19 side's matches during the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting three of those and playing off the bench in seven of their matches. He helped the side finish in fourth spot on the log to secure the final semi-final spot and also came on during their semi-final match against the Blue Bulls U19s, but could not prevent them slipping to a 13–48 defeat.[3]

At the end of 2011, Mpafi was named in a South Africa Under-20 training squad that prepared for the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship[4] However, he was not included in the final squad that participated in the tournament.

In 2012, he was included in the Free State XV squad for the 2012 Vodacom Cup, but he didn't make any appearances in the competition, instead representing club side Bloemfontein Police at the final edition of the National Club Championships held in Rustenburg.

Border Bulldogs

He returned to East London to play for the Border Bulldogs in 2013, but injury struck, ruling him out for the entire season.[2] However, his chance came in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, where he started five of their matches. He made his first class debut in a 24–46 defeat to a Sharks XV in the Bulldogs' first match of the season.[5] After playing in their 6–60 defeat to the Eastern Province Kings,[6] he also featured in their only victory in the competition as they beat Kenyan invitational side Simba XV 18–17 in East London.[7] His final two appearances came in defeats to Western Province[8] and former side Free State XV.[9]

He started their opening match of the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series against Griquas to make his Currie Cup debut[10] before being named in the starting line-up for four of their remaining five matches in the competition. Having lost all six of their matches, they qualified to the 2014 Currie Cup First Division competition, where Mpafi started a further three matches. The first of those was against the Falcons, a game which saw Mpafi score his first career try, which proved to be the difference as the Border Bulldogs won the match 19–14 to secure their only win in the competition.[11]

He made seven appearances during the 2015 Vodacom Cup – four starts and three appearances from the bench – as the Border Bulldogs emulated their 2014 record, winning just one of their seven matches in the competition. He started their opening match of the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series, helping his side secure a famous victory over a Griquas side that eventually topped the log in the competition to qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division.[12] Mpafi also started their next match against the Boland Cavaliers as they made it two wins out of two by triumphing 22–15 in Wellington,[13] as well as their other four matches in the competition, finishing in sixth spot on the log to qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup First Division. Mpafi started all five of their matches in the Currie Cup First Division, scoring his second career try in the second of those against the Griffons.[14] Despite securing a 44–20 victory over the Boland Cavaliers on the final day of the season,[15] it wasn't enough to lift them off the bottom of the log and they finished last for the second season in succession.

At the start of 2016, Mpafi was one of six Border Bulldogs players that joined the Southern Kings' Super Rugby squad for a trial period as they prepared for the 2016 Super Rugby season.[16] However, he returned to Border Bulldogs after he failed to be contracted for the Super Rugby side.[17]

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Mihlali Mpafi". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "Border coach keeps faith in young players". Eastern Cape Today. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 48-13 Free State". South African Rugby Union. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
4. "Small-Smith opgeroep". Son (in Afrikaans). 14 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 24-46 Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province Kings 60-6 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 18-17 Tusker Simba XV". South African Rugby Union. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 16-29 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State XV 54-17 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – GWK Griquas 52-5 Border". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 19-14 Valke". South African Rugby Union. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border 20-13 ORC Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Boland 15-22 Border". South African Rugby Union. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border 16-31 Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border 44-20 Boland". South African Rugby Union. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
16. "New recruits as Southern Kings 2016 season starts" (Press release). Eastern Province Kings. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
17. "More players join the ranks of the Southern Kings squad" (Press release). Eastern Province Kings. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.