Rabz Maxwane

Rabs Maxwane
Full nameSibahle Ndiphiwe Maxwane
Date of birth (1995-08-14) 14 August 1995 (age 29)
Place of birthQueenstown, South Africa
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb; 13 st 1 lb)
SchoolDale College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team Lions / Golden Lions
Youth career
2013 Border Bulldogs
2014–2016 Western Province
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 UP Tuks 1 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 Western Province 8 (10)
2017 Blue Bulls XV 5 (20)
2017 Bulls 1 (0)
2017 Blue Bulls 2 (5)
2017–2020 Cheetahs 35 (105)
2018–2020 Free State Cheetahs 7 (10)
2020– Lions 37 (65)
2020– Golden Lions 22 (60)
Correct as of 16 September 2024

Sibahle Ndiphiwe 'Rabz' Maxwane (born 14 August 1995) is a South African rugby union player for the Cheetahs in the Pro14 and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup.[1] He usually plays on the wing.

Rugby career

2013 : Youth rugby

Maxwane was born in Queenstown and attended Dale College Boys' High School in nearby King William's Town, playing first team rugby for Dale College in 2013 and 2014.[2][3]

He earned some provincial colours too, when he was named in the Border squad for the 2013 Under-18 Academy Week held in Durban.[4]

2014–2016 : Western Province

Maxwane joined the Western Province Rugby Institute for the 2014 season.[5] He was named in the Western Province U19 squad for the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship, but failed to make any appearances in the competition.[6] However, he did feature for a Western Province Rugby Academy XV in a match against a France Under-18 team in August 2014.[7]

He was in action for Western Province in 2015, making nine appearances in the Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored two tries in their 50–14 victory over Leopards U21[8] as his team finished top of the log after the round-robin stage,[9] but an injury ruled him out of the play-off matches[10] that saw Western Province crowned champions after beating Free State U21 in the final.[11]

He also joined the South Africa Sevens academy, where he was named in the Blitzboks wider training squad that prepared for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[12]

In April 2016, Maxwane made his first class debut, starting their 2016 Currie Cup qualification match against the Blue Bulls.[13] After another start against the Free State XV,[14] he scored his first senior try in a 27–24 victory over the Golden Lions XV in his next match.[15] He made three more starts and two appearances off the bench in the competition, scoring his second try in his final appearance for the team in a 45–17 victory over the SWD Eagles.[16]

He returned to the Under-21 team, starting all eight of their matches in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored one try against the Blue Bulls U21s[17] and two against the Golden Lions U21[18] during the regular season to help Western Province finish top of the log.[19] He scored a decisive try in a 26–23 victory over Free State U21 in the semi-finals[20] and his fifth of the season in the final, where his team fell just short, losing 34–38 to the Golden Lions.[21] He finished as his team's top try scorer, and just one behind the top try scorers in the competition, the Leopards U21s' Elden Schoeman and the Sharks U21s' Tristan Blewett,[22] and was also named the team's best back of the season at the annual awards ceremony.[23]

2017–present : Bulls

At the end of the 2016 season, the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls announced that Maxwane would join them for the 2017 season;[24] he was subsequently also included in the Bulls Super Rugby squad for the 2017 season.[25]

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Rabz Maxwane". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Match Reports for Maritzburg College 150th Festival". SA School Sports. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Selborne host Dale". Rugby365. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – Border : 2013 U18 Academy Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Cream of the crop chooses WPRI" (Press release). Western Province. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – WP U19 : 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ^ "WPRA XV to take on France U18s" (Press release). Western Province. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 50–14 Leopards U21". South African Rugby Union. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Absa Under 21 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Schickerling set for playing return" (Press release). Western Province. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 52–17 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Seven the lucky number for Bok stars" (Press release). Western Province. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30–16 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State XV 31–36 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 27–24 Xerox Golden Lions XV". South African Rugby Union. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 45–17 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 29–29 WP U21". South African Rugby Union. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Golden Lions U21 26–24 WP U21". South African Rugby Union. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  19. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2016 SA Rugby U21 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  20. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP U21 26–23 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  21. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP U21 34–38 Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 SA Rugby U21 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Du Toit, Jones and Mbonambi double-up at 2016 WPRFU awards night" (Press release). Western Province. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  24. ^ "Pollard to return to training next month" (Press release). Bulls. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Vodacom Bulls squad confirmed for Vodacom Super Rugby tournament" (Press release). Bulls. 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.