Tshakweni was born in East London and earned a provincial call-up at high school level, playing for the Border Bulldogs at the Under-18 Academy Week in 2015 and at the Under-18 Craven Week in 2016. For the 2017 season, he moved to the Port Elizabeth-based Eastern Province Kings, playing for their Under-19 team in the 2017 Under-19 Provincial Championship.[2]
In 2018, Tshakweni was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship held in France.[3] He played off the bench in all three of South Africa's matches in Pool C of the competition, featuring in victories over Georgia[4] and Ireland,[5] and scored a try in their final pool match, a 29–46 defeat to the hosts.[6] He was promoted to the starting lineup for their semifinal match against England — a 31–32 defeat that saw the team eliminated from the Cup competition[7] — and their 3rd-place play-off match against New Zealand, helping them to a 40–30 win.[8]
After the Under-20 competition, Tshakweni joined the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls on a short-term deal for the remainder of the 2018 season,[9] and appeared for the Blue Bulls U21 side in the 2018 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try in his side's 149–13 victory over Eastern Province U21.[10] In November 2018, he returned to Port Elizabeth, where he was drafted into the Southern Kings' Pro14 squad. He was named on the bench for their match against Connacht,[11] and came on as a yellow card replacement in the 35th minute of the match to make his first class debut in a 14–31 defeat.[12]
