Zee Mkhabela

Mthokozisi Cyprial 'Zee' Mkhabela (born 15 October 1994) is a South African rugby union player for the Sharks in the Super Rugby and the Sharks XV in the Rugby Challenge.^[1] His regular position is scrum-half.

Zee Mkhabela

Full name	Mthokozisi Cyprial Mkhabela
Date of birth	(1994-10-15) 15 October 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Empangeni, South Africa
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight	75 kg (11 st 11 lb; 165 lb)
School	Glenwood High School, Durban
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Current team Sharks / Sharks (Currie Cup) Youth career 2010–2012 Sharks 2013–2015 Free State Cheetahs Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2015–2016 UFS Shimlas 11 (0) Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2015–2017 Free State Cheetahs 14 (15) 2016–2018 Free State XV 7 (5) 2017–2018 Cheetahs 10 (0) 2019 Sharks XV 5 (5) 2019 Sharks 2 (0) 2020 Cheetahs 1 (0) 2021–2022 Valladolid 8 (5) 2022– Sharks (Currie Cup) 2 (0) 2022– Sharks () Correct as of 16 September 2022 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2011 South Africa Schools Academy 1 (0) 2014 South Africa Under-20 1 (0) Correct as of 22 April 2018

He recently signed for Spanish Club Valladoid for the 21/22 season, having previously played for his Local side College Rovers.

Career

KwaZulu-Natal (2010–12)

In 2010, Mkhabela was called up to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament held in Upington. The following year, he was selected in a South African Academy team that played against a France Under-18 team in Durban^[2] and in 2012, he represented KwaZulu-Natal at the premier South African schools competition, the Under-18 Craven Week.

Free State Cheetahs / UFS Shimlas / South Africa Under-20 (2013–)

After high school, Mkhabela moved to Bloemfontein to join the Free State Cheetahs prior to the 2013 season. He made ten appearances for the Free State U19 team, scoring a try in their match against the Blue Bulls U19s.^[3]

In 2014, Mkhabela was selected for the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand. He started the first match of the competition, a 61–5 victory over Scotland,^[4] but was an unused replacement in their other two pool stage matches against New Zealand^[5] and Samoa.^[6] He was again named on the bench for their semi-final win over New Zealand without getting any game time,^[7] as well as in the final against England, where South Africa suffered a 20–21 defeat.^[8]

Mkhabela got more game time upon his return to domestic action, playing eleven times in the Free State U21s' 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship season, helping them qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual losing finalists Western Province U21.^[9]

In 2015, Mkhabela was included in the UFS Shimlas squad for the 2015 Varsity Cup. He made seven appearances for the Shimlas pool stages of the tournament as Shimlas finished second on the log, but missed out on the play-offs as Shimlas won the competition for the first time, beating NWU Pukke 63–33 in the final.^[10] After the tournament, Mkhabela was named as the replacement scrum-half in a Varsity Cup Dream Team^[11] that played a match against the 2015 South African Under-20 squad, with the latter winning the match 31–24.^[12]

Mkhabela was named in the Free State Cheetahs' squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named on the bench for their opening match of the competition against the Blue Bulls.^[13]

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Zee Mkhabela". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SA Academy 24–36 France U18 B". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State 14–52 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61–5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24–33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Samoa 8–21 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32–25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21–20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 41–17 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFS SHIMLAS 63–33 FNB NWU-PUKKE". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
11. "Smith takes charge of Dream Team". Varsity Cup. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24–31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
13. "Cheetahs name team for Bulls clash". Sport24. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.