Makazole Mapimpi

Makazole Drex Mapimpi (born 26 July 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team and the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship. He usually plays as a winger and centre.[1] He was part of the winning Springboks of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. He became the first South African to score a try in a World Cup Final.

Makazole Mapimpi
Birth nameMakazole Drex Mapimpi
Date of birth (1990-07-26) 26 July 1990
Place of birthTsholomnqa, Eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb)
SchoolJim Mvabasa SS School, King William's Town
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger / Centre
Current team Sharks / Sharks (Currie Cup)
Youth career
2009 Border Bulldogs
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2016 Border Bulldogs 54 (149)
2017 Southern Kings 14 (55)
2017–2018 Free State Cheetahs 6 (35)
2017–2018 Cheetahs 13 (50)
2018– Sharks (Currie Cup) 1 (0)
2018– Sharks 53 (125)
2020–2021 →NTT Red Hurricanes 6 (20)
Correct as of 23 December 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 South Africa A 1 (5)
2018– South Africa 41 (130)
Correct as of 2 October 2023

Biography

Mapimpi was born and raised in a rural and poor environment. At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, South African players are invited to provide photos of their family that will be integrated into the flocked numbers on the back of their jersey. On this occasion, Mapimpi is the only one to give only a picture of himself . When Rassie Erasmus, the coach, asks him why, he admits having nobody left. His parents, as well as his siblings, all died.[2][3]

Career

Youth

As a child, Mapimpi grew up in the Tsholomnqa village.[4] In 2009, Mapimpi was a member of the Border U19 team.

Border Bulldogs

Mapimpi was one of several amateur club players brought into the Border Bulldogs provincial set-up at the start of 2014 after the professional side was declared bankrupt.[5] He was included in their squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition and made his debut in their opening match against a Sharks XV. Border lost the match 46–24, but Mapimpi marked his first-class debut with a try shortly after half-time.[6] He also started in their 6–60 loss to Eastern Cape rivals Eastern Province Kings[7] and their next match against Kenyan invitational side Simba XV, scoring the Border Bulldogs' second try in that match to help them to an 18–17 win, their only victory of the competition.[8] He also started the remaining four matches in the competition, scoring his third try of the campaign in their match against the SWD Eagles,[9] as the Border Bulldogs finished bottom of the log.

Mapimpi was retained for their 2014 Currie Cup qualification campaign and he made his debut in the Currie Cup competition by starting their 52–5 opening-day defeat to Griquas.[10] He missed their next match against the Boland Cavaliers,[11] before starting their other four matches in the competition. However, the Border Bulldogs lost all six of their matches to finish bottom of the log and qualified to the 2014 Currie Cup First Division. Mapimpi once again started all five of their matches, including their first match against the Falcons, which turned out to be the Border Bulldogs' only victory of the season as they ran out 19–14 winners.[12] He scored tries in consecutive matches against the SWD Eagles[13] and a Leopards side that eventually finished top of the log[14] but could not prevent the Bulldogs from finished bottom of the log with a single win all season.

Mapimpi returned in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, but ended up on the losing side in their first six matches in the seven-match competition. Mapimpi was the star performer in their final match of the season against the Boland Cavaliers in Alice;[15] he scored a hat-trick of tries and, with regular kicker Masixole Banda unavailable for this match, also took over the kicking duties and slotted three conversions and a penalty. He finished the match with a personal haul of 24 points in the Border Bulldogs' 29–5 victory to help them overtake the Boland Cavaliers on the Southern Section log.[16]

Mapimpi also scored a try three minutes from the end of the Border Bulldogs' first match of the 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament, with his side causing an upset by beating Griquas – the team that won the qualification tournament in 2014 to earn a spot in the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division – 20–13 in a match played in East London.

Free State Cheetahs

In April 2017, the Free State Cheetahs announced that they contracted Mapimpi until the end of the 2018 season.[17]

International career

Mapimpi made his test debut for the Springboks on 2 June 2018 against Wales in Washington, D.C. at the age of 27. Under Head Coach Rassie Erasmus and with the help of Backs Coach Mzwandile Stick, Mapimpi has blossomed to being a prolific try scorer for the Springboks, almost at a try per game. His mark on the international space became more prominent with his inclusion in the team for the Rugby Championship campaign of 2019. He was part of the winning Springboks that year, lifting the coveted 2019 Rugby Championship trophy.


That year, 2019, Mapimpi was included in the South African squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. He was a key player in the team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup under the leadership of Siya Kolisi, where in the tournament he scored 6 tries including two in the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter final match against Japan in a 26–3 victory.[18] and one in the final against England where the Springboks won the match convincingly with a runaway score of 32-12. Mapimpi became the first player in the history of Springboks to score a try in a Rugby World Cup final. All previous Springboks World Cup wins were without tries.

As of 3 September 2022, Mapimpi has the rare achievement of having scored a try against every team he has played in international rugby. In 2023 Mapimpi again was included in the squad chosen for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. In the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he appeared in two matches and won Player of the Match against Romania, with three fantastic tries to his name. In the second match against Tonga, Mapimpi suffered a head injury that fractured his cheekbone and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament.

Statistics

Test match record
As of 2 October 2023
Opponent P W D L Try Pts %Won
 Argentina760152585.71
 Australia620421033.33
 British and Irish Lions32011566.67
 England320121066.67
 France1001000
 Ireland1001000
 Italy110015100
 Japan2200525100
 Namibia1100210100
 New Zealand831421037.5
 Romania1100315100
 Scotland1100210100
 Tonga110000100
 Wales54011580
Total41261142613063.41

Pld = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, Try = Tries scored, Pts = Points scored

International tries
As of 5 August 2023 [19]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1 WalesWashington, D.C., United StatesRFK Stadium2018 June rugby union tests 2 June 2018Loss20–22
2  Argentina Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium 2018 Rugby Championship 18 August 2018 Win 34–21
3
4  Australia Brisbane, Australia Suncorp Stadium 2018 Rugby Championship 8 September 2018 Loss 23–18
5  Argentina Salta, Argentina Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena 2019 Rugby Championship 10 August 2019 Win 13–46
6  Japan Kumagaya, Japan Kumagaya Rugby Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 6 September 2019 Win 7–41
7
8
9  Namibia Toyota, Japan Toyta Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 28 September 2019 Win 57–3
10
11  Italy Shizuoka, Japan Shizuoka Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 4 October 2019 Win 49–3
12  Japan Chōfu, Japan Tokyo Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 20 October 2019 Win 3–26
13
14  England Yokohama, Japan International Stadium Yokohama 2019 Rugby World Cup Final 2 November 2019 Win 12–32
15  British and Irish Lions Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town Stadium 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa 31 July 2021 Win 27–9
16  Argentina Port Elizabeth, South Africa Nelson Madela Bay Stadium 2021 Rugby Championship 21 August 2021 Win 29–10
17  New Zealand Gold Coast, Australia Robina Stadium 2021 Rugby Championship 2 October 2021 Win 31–29
18  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2021 Autumn Nations Series 13 November 2021 Win 15–30
19
20  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2021 Autumn Nations Series 20 November 2021 Loss 27–26
21  New Zealand Johannesburg, South Africa Emirates Airline Park 2022 Rugby Championship 13 August 2022 Loss 23–35
22  Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Football Stadium 2022 Rugby Championship 3 September 2022 Win 8–24
23  Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina José Amalfitani Stadium 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 5 August 2023 Win 13–24
24  Romania Bordeaux, France Stade de Bordeaux 2023 Rugby World Cup 17 September 2023 Win 76–0
25
26

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Makazole Mapimpi". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. Rassie Erasmus reveals the reason why Mapimpi didn’t have photos of his family on the back of his Springbok shirt
  3. Springboks proud of Mapimpi's special story
  4. Press Reader
  5. "Bankrupt BRFU can't pay staff". Daily Dispatch. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 24–46 Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province Kings 60–6 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 18–17 Tusker Simba XV". South African Rugby Union. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 26–40 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – GWK Griquas 52–5 Border". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 12–37 Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 19–14 Valke". South African Rugby Union. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 31–22 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 19–34 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border Bulldogs 29–5 Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  16. "Border Star Has Super Rugby Dreams". MyPlayers. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  17. "Vrystaat lok Kings se Mapimpi". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  18. "Match 44, Quarter Final". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  19. "Makazole Mapimpi". 19 November 2021.
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