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Khanyo Ngcukana
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. Rugby career2011–2013 : Schoolboy rugbyNgcukana 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-20sAfter 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 / UCTAt 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
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