Khanyo Templeton Ngcukana (born 10 May 1995) is a Dutch-born South African rugby union player, currently playing with Western Province in the Currie Cup.[1] He can play as a winger or a fullback.
Full name | Khanyo Templeton Ngcukana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 10 May 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | The Hague, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 87 kg (13 st 10 lb; 192 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Rondebosch Boys' High School, Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | University of Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
edit2011–2013 : Schoolboy rugby
editNgcukana was born in The Hague in the Netherlands, but grew up in Cape Town. He attended Rondebosch Boys' High School, representing them in the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011[2] and the premier high school rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week, in 2013.[3]
2014–2015 : Youth and Varsity Cup rugby and South Africa Under-20s
editAfter high school, Ngcukana joined the Western Province academy and he was a member of their Under-19 squad that participated in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made four appearances during the regular season to help Western Province qualify for the semi-finals after finishing in third spot on the log.[4] He started their 29–22 victory over Free State U19 in the semi-final,[5] as well as the final against the Blue Bulls a week later. He scored Western Province's first try of the match in the 18th minute of the final, as his side won 33–26 to be crowned champions.[6]
At the start of 2015, Ngcukana played in the Varsity Cup for the UCT Ikey Tigers. He started all eight of their matches in a season that saw them reach the semi-final stage before losing to eventual champions UFS Shimlas. He scored three tries during the competition; two in a 90–8 victory over CUT Ixias[7] and another in their 40–21 victory over NWU Pukke.[8]
He was named in a 37-man training squad for the South Africa national under-20 rugby union team[9] and started for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015.[10] He was then included in the squad that embarked on a two-match tour of Argentina.[11] He was not named in the matchday squad for their 25–22 victory over Argentina in their first match[12] but played the full 80 minutes of a 39–28 victory in the second match four days later.[13] Upon the team's return to South Africa, he was named in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Italy.[14] He started their 33–5 win against the hosts in their first match,[15] but didn't feature in their 40–8 victory over Samoa in their second match.[16] He returned to the starting lineup for final pool match against Australia, scoring one of South Africa's six tries in a 46–13 victory,[17] and also started in their 20–28 loss to England in the semi-final.[18] He was omitted from the squad for the third-place play-off match against France, where South Africa achieved a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.[19]
He returned to domestic action for the Western Province U21 team during the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He appeared in every match that his team played during the season, scoring six tries – two against the Free State in Bloemfontein,[20] one each in matches against the Leopards[21] and Sharks[22] and another two in a 44–38 victory over the Golden Lions in their penultimate match in the regular season.[23] Western Province finished top of the log with ten victories in their twelve matches to qualify for the title play-offs,[24] and Ngcukana started both their 43–20 win over the Golden Lions in the semi-finals[25] and in their 52–17 win over Free State in the final[26] to win a youth provincial title for the second season in a row.
2016–present : Western Province / UCT
editAt the start of 2016 – after two appearances for the UCT Ikey Tigers in the Varsity Cup, scoring a try against defending champions UFS Shimlas[27] – Ngcukana was included in Western Province's squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series[28] and made his domestic first class debut in their Round Three match against a Free State XV[29] He was retained in the starting line-up for their next match against a Golden Lions XV a week later and scored a try – his first in senior rugby – which proved to be crucial in his side's 27–24 victory.[30] Ngcukana eventually made ten starts for Western Province on the right wing during the competition, contributing five more tries – against a Sharks XV,[31] Griquas,[32] the Leopards,[33] the Falcons[34] and Namibian side the Welwitschias[35] – to finish the competition as Western Province joint-highest try-scorer[36] and helping Western Province finish the competition on top of the log, by winning thirteen of their fourteen matches.[37]
He was then included in Western Province's squad for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division[38] and named in the starting line-up for their opening match of the season against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria,[39] playing the full 80 minutes of a 26–45 defeat.[40]
References
edit- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Khanyo Ngcukana". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Squad – WP : 2011 U16 Grant Khomo Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Squad – Western Province : 2013 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State U19 22–29 Western Province U19". South African Rugby Union. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U19 33–26 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 90–8 FNB CUT". South African Rugby Union. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB NWU-PUKKE 21–40 FNB UCT". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Junior Bok training squad confirmed". South African Rugby Union. 4 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24–31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 25 a 22". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 39 a 28". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Champs". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5–33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46–13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20–28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18–31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State U21 35–38 Western Province U21". South African Rugby Union. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 50–14 Leopards U21". South African Rugby Union. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 32–32 Western Province U21". South African Rugby Union. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Golden Lions U21 38–44 Western Province U21". South African Rugby Union. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Absa Under 21 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 43–20 Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 52–17 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT IKEYS 17–23 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Squad – DHL Western Province : 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State XV 31–36 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 27–24 Xerox Golden Lions XV". South African Rugby Union. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Cell C Sharks XV 24–16 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 24–23 Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 34–43 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hino Valke 31–59 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 7–71 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Squad – DHL Western Province : 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Next generation for DHL WP at Loftus" (Press release). Western Province. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 45–26 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.