Luxolo Koza (born 18 September 1994) is a 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 for the in the

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 ...

and the Rugby Challenge. He is a utility forward, but has mainly played as a loosehead prop in first class rugby.

Career

Eastern Province

As a scholar at Muir College in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

, Koza was selected to represent Eastern Province at the Under-18 Craven Week tournament. He earned a selection for both the 2011 tournament held in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

and the 2012 tournament held in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, mainly playing as a lock for Eastern Province. In both these seasons, he also represented the s in the annual Under-19 Provincial Championship. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he made three appearances but could not prevent Eastern Province finish rock bottom of Division B. He appeared on two occasions in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

– now mainly playing as a loose forward – as reached the final of the competition where they lost to near neighbours .

Griquas

After finishing school, Koza moved to

to join for the 2013 season. He represented in the

2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

making four starts as a loose forward and scoring tries in consecutive matches against and . His first class debut came for during the

2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Cu ...

competition. He played off the bench in their 26–24 victory over the in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. After a further substitute appearance the following week against the , he made his first senior start (now playing as a loosehead prop) in their 68–13 defeat of the in Kimberley and also started their home match against the in the same competition. Koza was also named in their squad for the

2014 Currie Cup qualification The 2014 Currie Cup qualification series was a tournament organised by the South African Rugby Union. It featured seven teams and was played in June and July 2014, with the winner qualifying for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division. The remaining ...

tournament and made his debut in that competition in their 52–5 victory against the . Griquas went on to win the qualification tournament and clinch a spot in the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

, but Koza played no part in that competition, instead reverting to the side where he started all seven of his side's matches during the

2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...

. Koza made two starts and one appearance off the bench during the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

competition, helping them finish in second position on the Northern Section log, before they lost in the semi-finals to the . In the second half of 2015, he was once again mainly used by the side, starting seven matches for them in the

2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group B The 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group B was contested from 15 August to 10 October 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship'' for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of the 2015 edition of th ...

, as they reached the semi-finals before losing to . He missed one match during their season due to his involvement with the senior side; on 29 August 2015, he made his

debut, coming on as a replacement just after the hour mark in their 32–46 defeat to the in Round Four of the

2015 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 77th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 7 August to 24 October 2015. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...

Pumas

Koza moved to

Nelspruit Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...

during 2016 to join the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koza, Luxolo South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births Rugby union players from Gqeberha Rugby union props Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Griquas (rugby union) players SWD Eagles players Falcons (rugby union) players Eastern Province Elephants players