Makazole Mapimpi

Makazole D-rex Mapimpi (born 26 July 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and South Africa national team. He usually plays as a winger and centre. He was part of the winning Springboks of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. He became the first South African to score a try in a World Cup Final.
Mapimpi was born in Tsholomnqa, a rural area and village situated in East London in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa in the Mdantsane District and raised in a rural and poor environment. From being selected into the Springboks in June 2018, he emerged as a best Winger of the year and had a meteoric rise on the international front. At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, South African players were invited to provide photos of their family that would 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.
Mapimpi currently represents The Sharks He has amassed more than 50 senior appearances in all senior competitions.
He attended Jim Mvabasa SS School, King William's Town, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
As a child, Mapimpi grew up in the Tsholomnqa village. In 2009, Mapimpi was a member of the Border U19 team.
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. 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. He also started in their 6–60 loss to Eastern Cape rivals Eastern Province Kings 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. He also started the remaining four matches in the competition, scoring his third try of the campaign in their match against the SWD Eagles, 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. He missed their next match against the Boland Cavaliers, 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. He scored tries in consecutive matches against the SWD Eagles and a Leopards side that eventually finished top of the log 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; 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.
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.
In April 2017, the Free State Cheetahs announced that they contracted Mapimpi until the end of the 2018 season. This gave Mapimpi a super chance to profile himself and his skills, resulting in an opportunity to move to the Sharks, being a more prominent Rugby Union.
In January 2023, he was banned for two weeks after being found guilty of making contact with the eyes of Bordeaux Bègles scrum half Maxime Lucu during the 2022–23 Champions Cup. In banned again for the same offence for three games after admitting he made contact with the eye or eye area of Cardiff hooker Efan Daniel during a 42–22 in the URC.
Makazole has up to 19th November 2024, become the Springboks most prolific all time try-scorers of the post-Apartheid era. His try scoring ratio of 70%, is far superior to that of the leading Springbok all time try scorer Bryan Habana, whose ratio is at 54% from scoring 67 tries in 124 tests for the Boks. He is followed by Joost van der Westhuizen (second highest tally of tries for the Boks) with 38 tries from 89 tests and a ration of 43% and equal to Mapimpi at joint third place, is Jacques Fourie, having 32 tries from 72 tests but with a 44% ratio. Credit has to be given to Mapimpi for having amassed such a high conversion rate from only playing 46 games for the national side in only 6 years of playing.
Unlike the other top 3 who have featured for the national side for well close to 10 years. His current 70% ratio is higher than any other post-Apartheid Springbok player. Many may quote the Apartheid-era legend Danie Gerber who notched a 79% try scoring ratio (24 tests with 19 tries scored), as being the greatest, but the modern game of Habana and Mapimpi, far surpasses that of the apartheid -era period that Gerber represented the Springboks. Where Gerber's tries came from 12 years of being a Springbok. For his remarkable feats, Gerber was inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame.
DEBUT
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.
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2019
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. 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.
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA 2021
Makazole was instrumental in the series win. The Springboks had lost the first match and were bruised. Makazole played the whole of the second match and scoring the pivotal winning try to level the series. His play in that second test, was absolutely spectacular, and worthy of Man of the Match according to James Haskell in his interview and summary of the match on the podcast Lions Den. This second test performance truly cemented Makazole's respect from the visitors. And special mention by Robbie Henshaw in his match summary of the Makazole try was testimony to this.
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023
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. The first of which was the game against Romania, in which he won Player of the Match, with three fantastic tries to his name. In the second match against Tonga, Mapimpi suffered a head injury that fractured his cheekbone, an injury that ruled him out for the remaining games. He was substituted by his best friend Lukhanyo Am who was called up to join the squad while Mapimpi returned home for surgery and recovery.
He and the South Africans Springboks team received their winners medals at the culmination of the Rugby World cup in France, after South Africa beat New Zealand by one point to reclaim the William Webb Ellis Trophy and be the first team to have won the Rugby World Cup for the Fourth Time, and this particular core squad of players are the second team after the 2015 All Blacks to have won back to back wins. Makazole is effectively a two time world champion and one of the greats of the sports, being the most prolific try scorer for the Springboks between 2018 and 2022.
The Sharks - Club Rugby
South Africa - International Rugby
Pld = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, Try = Tries scored, Pts = Points scored
https://www.springboks.rugby/news-features/articles/2024/09/07/boks-dig-deep-to-beat-nz-and-win-the-freedom-cup/