Minenhle Mthethwa

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Minenhle Mthethwa
Full nameMinenhle Lethuxolo Mthethwa
Date of birth (1991-08-05) 5 August 1991 (age 30)
Place of birth Empangeni, South Africa
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb)
SchoolEshowe High School, Eshowe
University University of the Western Cape
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger / Centre
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2013–2016 UWC 29 (35)
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2016 Eastern Province Kings 3 (0)
Correct as of 14 December 2016

Minenhle Lethuxolo Mthethwa (born 5 August 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who most recently played with the Eastern Province Kings. [1] He usually plays as a winger, but can also play as an outside centre.

Contents

Rugby career

Youth rugby

Mthethwa was born in Empangeni, and went to school in Eshowe. However, he was never selected to represent his local KwaZulu-Natal province at any national tournaments at schoolboy level.

University of the Western Cape

Mthethwa moved to Cape Town, where he enrolled at the University of the Western Cape, establishing himself in their first team. He was included in their rugby team that participated in the 2013 Varsity Shield. [2] He scored a try on his debut in the competition, in a 42–4 victory over TUT Vikings, [3] and a second in their 36–13 victory over UKZN Impi three weeks later. [4] He made a total of five appearances for his team during the regular season, helping them to second spot on the log to qualify for the final against CUT Ixias. [5] He also started the final, but could not prevent the side from Bloemfontein winning 29–19 to win the competition. [6]

Mthethwa was a key player for the team in the 2014 Varsity Shield, starting seven of their eight matches. He scored tries in matches against CUT Ixias, [7] UKZN Impi [8] and TUT Vikings [9] – the second-highest try tally for a UWC player behind James Verity-Amm [10] – in a disappointing season for UWC, which saw them finish fourth in the five-team competition, winning just three of their matches. [11]

Mthethwa made six appearances for UWC in the 2015 Varsity Shield, scoring one try in their 58–8 win over the UFH Blues [12] as the team finished in third place, again missing out on a place in the final. [13] He featured in all eight of their matches during the round-robin stage of the 2016 Varsity Shield. He scored a single try in their 30–5 victory over the UFH Blues, [14] as UWC finishing in second place on the log after UKZN Impi had twelve points deducted for fielding an ineligible player in their matches. [15] [16] Mthethwa started the final, where UWC again ended on the losing side, with Wits winning the match 39–2, [17] and also started in a promotion play-off match against fellow Cape Town team UCT Ikey Tigers. UWC lost the match 5–40 to remain in the Varsity Shield for 2017. [18]

Eastern Province Kings

In August 2016, Mthethwa was contracted by the Eastern Province Kings for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division. [19] He made his debut in the team's 35–49 defeat to the Blue Bulls in Pretoria, coming on as a replacement for the last quarter of an hour. [20] He made his first start 12 days later as Eastern Province faced Griquas in a rescheduled midweek match, [21] and made his third and final appearance of the season as a replacement in their 0–53 loss to the Sharks. [22] The Eastern Province Kings endured a torrid season, losing all eight of their matches to finish bottom of the log. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Minenhle Mthethwa". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "SA Rugby Squad – FNB UWC : 2013 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UWC 42-4 FNB TUT". South African Rugby Union. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 13-36 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2013 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB CUT 29-19 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UWC 24-35 FNB CUT". South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 32-33 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB TUT 17-24 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2014 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2014 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFH 8-58 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2015 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UWC 30-5 FNB UFH". South African Rugby Union. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "FNB UKZN docked points in the Varsity Shield" (Press release). Varsity Cup. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2016 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  17. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB WITS 39-2 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  18. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 40-5 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ferreira leads Kings into battle". Rugby365. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 49-35 Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Griquas 47-24 Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  22. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Cell C Sharks 53-0 Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
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