Mosolwa Mafuma

Mosolwa Mafuma

Full name	Mosolwa Mashudu Mafuma
Date of birth	(1996-02-13) 13 February 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Germiston, South Africa
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	89 kg (14 st 0 lb; 196 lb)
School	St Benedict's College
University	University of the Free State
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger Youth career 2012 Golden Lions Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2016 UFS Shimlas 6 (40 [note 1]) Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016 Free State XV 3 (15) Correct as of 20 July 2016 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016 South Africa Under-20 3 (5) 2018 South Africa Sevens 5 (5) Correct as of 14 November 2018

Mosolwa Mashudu Mafuma (born 13 February 1996) is a South African rugby union player.^[3] His usual playing position is on the wing.

Rugby career

2012: Schoolboy rugby

Mafuma was born in Germiston and attended St Benedict's College.^[4] In 2012, he was selected to represent the Golden Lions at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Johannesburg.^[5]

2016: Varsity Cup / South Africa Under-20 / Free State XV

Mafuma didn't earn further provincial representations during his high school career and it wasn't until 2016 that he sprung to prominence in a national competition; he was included in the UFS Shimlas squad that participated in the 2016 Varsity Cup competition. In the team's first match, he scored a late try to help his side to a 23–17 victory over UCT Ikey Tigers^[6] and followed that up with another try in their next match against UP Tuks in a 47–46 victory.^{[note 1]} He continued his try-scoring run by scoring against NMMU Madibaz,^[7] CUT Ixias,^[8] UJ^[9] and Maties,^[10] a run which meant he scored in each of his six matches for Shimlas. He was an unused reserve in their final match against NWU Pukke.^[11] At the conclusion of the tournament, Mafuma was named the "Player That Rocks" for the competition.^[12]

He was invited to join a South Africa Under-20 training squad,^[13] also making the cut for a reduced provisional squad named a week later.^[14] In between training with the team, he also made two appearances for a Free State XV in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He made his first class debut in their Round Three match against Western Province, immediately proving his worth at this level by scoring two tries for his side. It was not enough, however, as the team from Cape Town won the match 36–31.^[15] He also played off the bench in their match against a Golden Lions XV a fortnight later.^[16] On 10 May 2016, he was included in the final South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship tournament held in Manchester, England.^[17] He started their opening match in Pool C of the tournament as South Africa came from behind to beat Japan 59–19, scoring South Africa's seventh try of the match.^[18] He also started their next pool match as South Africa were beaten 13–19 by Argentina.^[19] He wasn't in the squad for their final pool match, as South Africa bounced back to secure a 40-31 bonus-point victory over France^[20] to secure a semi-final place as the best runner-up in the competition. He was restored to the starting line-up for the semi-final, as South Africa faced three-time champions England. The hosts proving too strong for South Africa, knocking them out of the competition with a 39–17 victory.^[21] Mafuma didn't feature against Argentina in the third-place play-off match, as Argentina beat South Africa – as they did in the pool stages – convincingly winning 49–19^[22] and in the process condemning South Africa to fourth place in the competition.

Upon his return to South Africa, Mafuma scored his third try of the Currie Cup qualification series in a 24–16 victory over the SWD Eagles^[23] and was included in the Free State Cheetahs squad for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.^[24]

Athletics

Mafuma also participated in athletics at high school level, taking part in the 100m and 200m sprint events. He ran the 100m in 10.80 second and the 200m in 21.90 seconds at the Under-18 South African Championships in Pretoria in 2013,^[25][26] the fourth-fastest 100m time and seventh-fastest 200m time of the season for his age group.^[27] He broke 100m records at Under-15 and Under-16 level and also took part in other events such as 100m hurdles and the high jump.^[28]

Notes

1. The SARU match report lists the name of the 34th minute try-scorer as Mosolwa Mafuma,^[1] while the Varsity Cup match report lists it as Pieter-Steyn de Wet in the report and scoreboard sections.^[2] The latter was assumed to be correct.

References

1. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP-TUKS 46–47 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
2. "FNB Shimlas fightback stuns FNB Tuks". Varsity Cup. 15 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Mosolwa Mafuma". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
4. "St Benedicts Rugby History and 2014 Fixtures". Youth Sports Network. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
5. "SA Rugby Squad – Lions XV : 2012 U16 Grant Khomo Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT IKEYS 17–23 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFS SHIMLAS 46–19 FNB NMMU MADIBAZ". South African Rugby Union. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFS SHIMLAS 10–9 FNB CUT". South African Rugby Union. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFS SHIMLAS 49–72 FNB UJ". South African Rugby Union. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB MATIES 35–14 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB NWU-PUKKE 37–21 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
12. "Standing Out: The 2016 Players That Rocked". Varsity Cup. 14 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
13. "Large group invited to Junior Springbok trials camp". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
14. "Theron names provisional Junior Springbok squad". South African Rugby Union. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State XV 31–36 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
16. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Xerox Golden Lions XV 15–29 Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
17. "Ward to lead Junior Springboks in England". South African Rugby Union. 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 59–19 Japan U20". South African Rugby Union. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 13–19 Argentina U20". South African Rugby Union. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
20. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–31 France U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
21. "SA Rugby Match Centre – England U20 39–17 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
22. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina U20 49–19 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
23. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 16–24 Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
24. "SA Rugby Squad – Toyota Free State Cheetahs : 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
25. "Profile of Mosolwa Mafuma". All-Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
26. "Mosolwa Mafuma : IAAF". IAAF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
27. "2013 South African youth top performances" (PDF). Athletics South Africa. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
28. "Athletics 2010 onwards". St Benedict's College. Retrieved 20 July 2016.