| Intro | South African rugby union footballer (b. 1992) |
| Is |
Athlete Rugby union player |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 17 June 1992, Mdantsane, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Age: | 28 years |
| Star sign | Gemini |
Mihlali Mpafi (born 17 June 1992 in Mdantsane, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Eastern Province Elephants in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is hooker.
Playing career
Youth / Amateur rugby
He played for Border at various age groups since the age of 12, culminating in representing them in South Africa’s premier high school rugby union tournament, the Under-18 Craven Week held in Welkom in 2010.
After high school, Mpafi moved to Bloemfontein to join the Free State Cheetahs. He was named in the matchday squad for all thirteen of the Free State U19 side’s matches during the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting three of those and playing off the bench in seven of their matches. He helped the side finish in fourth spot on the log to secure the final semi-final spot and also came on during their semi-final match against the Blue Bulls U19s, but could not prevent them slipping to a 13–48 defeat.
At the end of 2011, Mpafi was named in a South Africa Under-20 training squad that prepared for the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship However, he was not included in the final squad that participated in the tournament.
In 2012, he was included in the Free State XV squad for the 2012 Vodacom Cup, but he didn’t make any appearances in the competition, instead representing club side Bloemfontein Police at the final edition of the National Club Championships held in Rustenburg.
Border Bulldogs
He returned to East London to play for the Border Bulldogs in 2013, but injury struck, ruling him out for the entire season. However, his chance came in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, where he started five of their matches. He made his first class debut in a 24–46 defeat to a Sharks XV in the Bulldogs’ first match of the season. After playing in their 6–60 defeat to the Eastern Province Kings, he also featured in their only victory in the competition as they beat Kenyan invitational side Simba XV 18–17 in East London. His final two appearances came in defeats to Western Province and former side Free State XV.
He started their opening match of the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series against Griquas to make his Currie Cup debut before being named in the starting line-up for four of their remaining five matches in the competition. Having lost all six of their matches, they qualified to the 2014 Currie Cup First Division competition, where Mpafi started a further three matches. The first of those was against the Falcons, a game which saw Mpafi score his first career try, which proved to be the difference as the Border Bulldogs won the match 19–14 to secure their only win in the competition.
He made seven appearances during the 2015 Vodacom Cup – four starts and three appearances from the bench – as the Border Bulldogs emulated their 2014 record, winning just one of their seven matches in the competition. He started their opening match of the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series, helping his side secure a famous victory over a Griquas side that eventually topped the log in the competition to qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division. Mpafi also started their next match against the Boland Cavaliers as they made it two wins out of two by triumphing 22–15 in Wellington, as well as their other four matches in the competition, finishing in sixth spot on the log to qualify for the 2015 Currie Cup First Division. Mpafi started all five of their matches in the Currie Cup First Division, scoring his second career try in the second of those against the Griffons. Despite securing a 44–20 victory over the Boland Cavaliers on the final day of the season, it wasn’t enough to lift them off the bottom of the log and they finished last for the second season in succession.
At the start of 2016, Mpafi was one of six Border Bulldogs players that joined the Southern Kings’ Super Rugby squad for a trial period as they prepared for the 2016 Super Rugby season. However, he returned to Border Bulldogs after he failed to be contracted for the Super Rugby side.