Bandise Grey Maku (born 24 July 1986) is a former South African professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, whose usual position was hooker. He played first class rugby between 2006 and 2016 and also played in a single test match for in 2010, as well as in three tour matches in 2009 and 2010. He played

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

for the from 2008 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2016, for the in 2011 and for the in 2013. He played domestic

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

rugby for the from 2006 to 2010 and from 2013 to 2016 and for the in 2011 and 2012.

Career

Youth

He represented his local team at the 2004

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 tou ...

before moving to the , for whom he played rugby at youth level.

Bulls

He was first named in a squad during the

2006 Vodacom Cup The 2006 Vodacom Cup was the 9th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions. Competition There were 14 teams parti ...

. He made his Currie Cup debut the following season, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute against . A year later, he was also included in squad for the

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

, making his debut in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

against the .

Lions

He joined the for the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, where he started in 14 games. He also played Currie Cup rugby for the , where he was also a member of the starting line-up which defeated the 42–16 to win the

2011 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 73rd season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from July to October 2011. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the top t ...

. He was injured for the entire

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super R ...

, but did play some Currie Cup rugby at the end of the season.

Kings

He then joined the for the

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumb ...

Return to Bulls

After the

, he rejoined former team the , signing a contract at the team until October 2016.

South Africa national team

His first tour of duty for his country was with the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

to France, Italy, Ireland & England in late 2009, where he played in tour matches against the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

and

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. He earned his first test cap for his country playing against Italy during an incoming tour in 2010. In 2010, Maku was again called up for duty with the Springboks in a November tour of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. His call came two matches into the tour on 18 November 2010, after a controversial incident in which two other Springbok players tested positive for a banned substance.

Honours

* 2009 Currie Cup winner * 2010 Super Rugby winner * 2011 Currie Cup winner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maku, Bandise South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Eastern Province Elephants players Southern Kings players Living people 1986 births Cricketers from Qonce Tshwane University of Technology alumni Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape Rugby union hookers Alumni of Dale College Boys' High School