Wandile Mjekevu

Wandile Mjekevu
Personal information
Full name Wandile Gabada Mjekevu
Born (1991-01-07) 7 January 1991
Durban, South Africa
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
School(s) attended King Edward VII School, Johannesburg
Club information
Playing position Winger / Centre
Current club Sharks
Youth career
2007–11 Golden Lions
Amateur team(s)
Years Team
2013 College Rovers 5 (25)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Pts)†
2010–11 Lions 10 (20)
2010–11 Golden Lions 4 (5)
2012–13 Sharks (Currie Cup) 6 (5)
2013–15 Perpignan 36 (80)
2015– Sharks (Currie Cup) 9 (10)
Representative team(s)‡
2008 S.A. Under-18 Elite Squad ()
2008 S.A. Schools ()
2009 S.A. Under-18 High Performance Squad ()
2010–11 S.A. Under-20 10 (35)

* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 12 October 2015.
† Appearances (Points).

‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 19 June 2015.

Wandile Gabada Mjekevu (born 7 January 1991) is a South African rugby union player who plays as a center or a winger for the Sharks in the Super Rugby competition.

Career

Golden Lions

He started his career with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions. He represented them at Under-16 level in 2007 and at the 2008 Craven Week tournament. After playing for the Golden Lions U19 side in 2008 and 2009, he made his first class debut for the Lions in their 2010 Super 14 match against the Stormers.[1] In just his second match, he scored a hat-trick in the Lions' 65–72 defeat to New Zealand side the Chiefs.[2] He eventually made a total of ten appearances during the tournament. He played for the Golden Lions U21s in the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A, making three appearances. He was named on the bench for the Golden Lions' 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division match against the Pumas, but failed to make an appearance.[3]

The following season, he made four appearances for the Golden Lions in the 2011 Vodacom Cup and eleven appearances for the Golden Lions in the 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

Sharks

In 2012, Mjekevu returned to his hometown of Durban to join the Sharks. He made six appearances for them during the 2012 Vodacom Cup, scoring one try in their match against a Free State XV.[4] He played in 13 matches for the Sharks XV during the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

However, he failed to break into their Currie Cup squad and the following season, he played in the 2013 SARU Community Cup for Durban-based club side College Rovers. He scored a brace of tries in their match against SK Walmers[5] and a hat-trick the following week against Villagers Worcester[6] as College Rovers finished runners-up in the inaugural competition.

Perpignan

In 2013, Mjekevu signed a deal to join French Top 14 side Perpignan in 2013.[7] He scored four tries in 15 appearances for them in the 2013–14 Top 14 season, which wasn't enough to prevent his side finishing 13th and being relegated to the Rugby Pro D2. He also scored two tries in three appearances in the 2013–14 Heineken Cup.

He scored ten tries in 18 appearances in the 2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 as Perpignan finished in third place on the log, before losing to Agen on number of tries scored in the promotion play-offs.

Return to Sharks

After the 2014–15 European season, Mjekevu returned to the Sharks prior to the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division, signing a two-year deal with the team.[8]

Representative rugby

Mjekevu earned a number of call-ups to junior South African sides. He was selected in a South African Under-18 Elite Squad in 2008 and subsequently selected in the final South African Schools squad in the same year. In 2009, he was included in a South African Under-18 High Performance Squad and he was a member of the South Africa Under-20 team that played in the 2010 and 2011 IRB Junior World Championships.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Auto & General Lions vs Vodacom Stormers". South African Rugby Union. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Auto & General Lions vs Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Xerox Lions vs Barloworld Toyota Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Toyota Free State XV vs Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Jonsson College Rovers (KZN) vs SK Walmers (WP)". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Match Breakdown: United Bulk Villagers Worcester (Boland) vs Jonsson College Rovers (KZN)". South African Rugby Union. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Duvenage off to Perpignan". SA Rugby. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "The Cell C Sharks sign Wandile Mjekevu" (Press release). Sharks. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "South Africa U20 squad named". SuperSport. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2015.

External links

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