Makazole Mapimpi
South African rugby union player (born 1990)
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Makazole 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.[1] 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.
26 July 1990
| Born | Makazole Mapimpi 26 July 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Jim Mvabasa SS School, King William's Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Biography
Mapimpi was born in Tsholomnqa, a rural area and village situated in East London in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa in the Amathole 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.[2][3]
Schooling
Mapimpi currently represents The Sharks He has amassed more than 100 senior appearances in all senior competitions.
He attended Jim Mvabasa SS School, King William's Town, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Youth
As a child, Mapimpi grew up in the Tsholomnqa village.[4] In 2009, Mapimpi was a member of the Border U19 team.
Club career
Border Bulldogs
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.[5] 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.[6] He also started in their 6–60 loss to Eastern Cape rivals Eastern Province Kings[7] 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.[8] He also started the remaining four matches in the competition, scoring his third try of the campaign in their match against the SWD Eagles,[9] 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.[10] He missed their next match against the Boland Cavaliers,[11] 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.[12] He scored tries in consecutive matches against the SWD Eagles[13] and a Leopards side that eventually finished top of the log[14] 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;[15] 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.[16]
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.
Free State Cheetahs
In April 2017, the Free State Cheetahs announced that they contracted Mapimpi until the end of the 2018 season.[17] 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.
Sharks
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. He was banned again, 3 games into his return, for the same offence; admitting he made contact with the eye or eye area of Cardiff hooker Efan Daniel during a 42–22 in the URC.[18]
Honours
The Sharks - Club Rugby
- 2023/24 EPCR Challenge Cup Winner
- 2024 Currie Cup Championship Winner
South Africa - International Rugby
- 2019 Rugby Championship Winner
- 2019 Rugby World Cup Japan Winner
- 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa Winner
- 2023 Rugby World Cup France Winner
- 2023 Qatar Airways Cup in Twickenham - Springboks vs All Blacks Winner
- 2024 Qatar Airways Cup in Twickenham - Springboks vs Wales Winner
- 2024 Mandela Challenge Plate - Springboks vs Wallabies Winner
- 2024 Freedom Cup - Springboks vs All Blacks Winner
- 2024 Rugby Championship Winner
- 2024 Prince William Cup - Springboks vs Wales 2024 Autumn Series Winner
- 2025 Rugby Championship winner
Statistics
Test match record
- As of 12 July 2025
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | Try | Pts | %Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 75 |
 Australia | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 42.86 |
 British and Irish Lions | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 66.67 |
 England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 66.67 |
 France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
 Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
 Namibia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
 New Zealand | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 37.5 |
 Portugal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 100 |
 Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 100 |
 Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 100 |
 Tonga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Wales | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 83.33 |
| Total | 47 | 31 | 1 | 15 | 33 | 165 | 65.96 |
Pld = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, Try = Tries scored, Pts = Points scored
International tries
- As of 12 July 2025 [19]
