Sabelo Nhlapo

Sabelo Nhlapo (born 17 December 1988 in Johannesburg) is a retired South African rugby union player, who most recently played with the Pumas.^[1] His regular position is prop.

Sabelo Nhlapo

Date of birth	(1988-12-17) 17 December 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	116 kg (18 st 4 lb; 256 lb)
School	Highlands North Boys' High, Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop, Lock, Loose forward Youth career 2006 Golden Lions 2007–2009 Sharks Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2012–2013 UP Tuks 14 (5) Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2009–2011 Sharks XV 20 (0) 2013 Boland Cavaliers 8 (0) 2014–2016 Pumas 13 (0) 2009–2016 Total 41 (0) Correct as of 24 July 2016 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2006 South Africa Under-18 2007 South Africa Under-19 2008 South Africa Under-20 Correct as of 1 October 2013

Career

Youth

Nhlapo represented Johannesburg-based side Golden Lions at the Under-18 Academy Week tournament in 2006, which led to his inclusion in the CAR Under-18 tournament that year.

He then joined the Sharks Academy, where he played at Under-19 level in 2007 and at Under-21 level in 2008 and 2009. Once again, he received representative honours during this time, playing for the South African Under-19 side at the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship and for their U20 side at the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship.

Sharks

He made his first class debut for the Sharks XV during the 2009 Vodacom Cup competition, in their first round match against the Boland Cavaliers.^[2] He made twenty appearances for them in the Vodacom Cup competition over the next three seasons, but failed to break into their Currie Cup side, despite being named in their squad which won the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division title^[3] and also being included in the Sharks Super Rugby squad for the 2011 Super 15 season.^[4]

Varsity Cup

In 2012, he returned to Gauteng to join Pretoria-based Varsity Cup side UP Tuks and made fourteen appearances for them during the 2012^[5] and 2013^[6] seasons. UP Tuks won the competition in both occasions, with Nhlapo playing in both finals.

Boland Cavaliers

The latter half of 2013 saw him move to Wellington to join the Boland Cavaliers for the 2013 Currie Cup First Division competition.^[7] He made seven appearances for them during that competition.

Pumas

He then moved to Nelspruit to join the Pumas for 2014.^[8] He was a member of the Pumas side that won the Vodacom Cup for the first time in 2015, beating Western Province 24–7 in the final.^[9] Nhlapo made four appearances during the season.

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Sabelo Nhlapo". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Boland Cavaliers 18–43 Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Squad – Sharks : 2010 ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
4. "Sharks finalise 2011 Super rugby squad". SuperXV.com. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
5. "SA Rugby Squad – Tuks : 2012 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
6. "SA Rugby Squad – Tuks : 2013 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
7. "Aanwinste vir Boland Kavaliers span". Rugby15 (in Afrikaans). 14 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
8. "Moenie SWD afskryf – Fortuin". Media24 (in Afrikaans). 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
9. "Steval Pumas first-time Vodacom Cup champions – Final Review". South African Rugby Union. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.