Khanyo Templeton Ngcukana (born 10 May 1995) is a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

-born South African

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, currently playing with in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

. He can play as a winger or a fullback.

Rugby career

2011–2013 : Schoolboy rugby

Ngcukana was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, but grew up in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. He attended

Rondebosch Boys' High School Rondebosch Boys' High School is a public English medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest schools in the country, having been established ...

, representing them in the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011 and the premier high school rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...

, in 2013.

2014–2015 : Youth and Varsity Cup rugby and South Africa Under-20s

After high school, Ngcukana joined the Western Province academy and he was a member of their Under-19 squad that participated in the

2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2014 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Gr ...

. He made four appearances during the regular season to help Western Province qualify for the semi-finals after finishing in third spot on the log. He started their 29–22 victory over in the semi-final, as well as the final against the Blue Bulls a week later. He scored Western Province's first try of the match in the 18th minute of the final, as his side won 33–26 to be crowned champions. At the start of 2015, Ngcukana played in the

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each unive ...

for the . He started all eight of their matches in a season that saw them reach the semi-final stage before losing to eventual champions . He scored three tries during the competition; two in a 90–8 victory over and another in their 40–21 victory over . He was named in a 37-man training squad for the

South Africa national under-20 rugby union team The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Ch ...

and started for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015. He was then included in the squad that embarked on a two-match tour of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He was not named in the matchday squad for their 25–22 victory over

in their first match but played the full 80 minutes of a 39–28 victory in the second match four days later. Upon the team's return to South Africa, he was named in the final squad for the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He started their 33–5 win against the hosts in their first match, but didn't feature in their 40–8 victory over

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in their second match. He returned to the starting lineup for final pool match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, scoring one of South Africa's six tries in a 46–13 victory, and also started in their 20–28 loss to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the semi-final. He was omitted from the squad for the third-place play-off match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where South Africa achieved a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition. He returned to domestic action for the team during the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He appeared in every match that his team played during the season, scoring six tries – two against the Free State in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, one each in matches against the Leopards and Sharks and another two in a 44–38 victory over the Golden Lions in their penultimate match in the regular season. Western Province finished top of the log with ten victories in their twelve matches to qualify for the title play-offs, and Ngcukana started both their 43–20 win over the Golden Lions in the semi-finals and in their 52–17 win over Free State in the final to win a youth provincial title for the second season in a row.

2016–present : Western Province / UCT

At the start of 2016 – after two appearances for the in the

, scoring a try against defending champions UFS Shimlas – Ngcukana was included in Western Province's squad for the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the ...

series and made his domestic first class debut in their Round Three match against a He was retained in the starting line-up for their next match against a a week later and scored a try – his first in senior rugby – which proved to be crucial in his side's 27–24 victory. Ngcukana eventually made ten starts for Western Province on the right wing during the competition, contributing five more tries – against a , , the , the and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n side the – to finish the competition as Western Province joint-highest try-scorer and helping Western Province finish the competition on top of the log, by winning thirteen of their fourteen matches. He was then included in Western Province's squad for the

2016 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division was the top tier of the second stage of the 2016 Currie Cup, the 78th edition of this annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was played between 5 August ...

and named in the starting line-up for their opening match of the season against the in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, playing the full 80 minutes of a 26–45 defeat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngcukana, Khanyo South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births Sportspeople from The Hague Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Western Province (rugby union) players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School 21st-century South African sportsmen Rugby union players from Cape Town Ikey Tigers players