Minenhle Lethuxolo Mthethwa (born 5 August 1991) 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 who most recently played with the . He usually plays as a winger, but can also play as an outside centre.

Rugby career

Youth rugby

Mthethwa was born in

Empangeni Empangeni is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is approximately 157 kilometres north of Durban, in hilly countryside, overlooking a flat coastal plain and the major harbour town of Richards Bay 16 kilometres away. The N2 freeway runs east ...

, and went to school in

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km² of the indigenous Dlinza ...

. However, he was never selected to represent his local KwaZulu-Natal province at any national tournaments at schoolboy level.

University of the Western Cape

Mthethwa moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, where he enrolled at the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

, establishing himself in their first team. He was included in their rugby team that participated in the 2013 Varsity Shield. He scored a try on his debut in the competition, in a 42–4 victory over , and a second in their 36–13 victory over three weeks later. He made a total of five appearances for his team during the regular season, helping them to second spot on the log to qualify for the final against . He also started the final, but could not prevent the side from

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

winning 29–19 to win the competition. Mthethwa was a key player for the team in the

2014 Varsity Shield The 2014 Varsity Shield was contested from 27 January to 31 March 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual ...

, starting seven of their eight matches. He scored tries in matches against , and – the second-highest try tally for a UWC player behind

James Verity-Amm James Nicholas Verity-Amm (born 8 June 1994) is a South African rugby union player. Currently released, he previously played for the in the United Rugby Championship and for the in the Currie Cup. He did play as a winger or full-back. Rugby c ...

– in a disappointing season for UWC, which saw them finish fourth in the five-team competition, winning just three of their matches. Mthethwa made six appearances for UWC in the

2015 Varsity Shield The 2015 Varsity Shield was contested from 2 February to 6 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual s ...

, scoring one try in their 58–8 win over the as the team finished in third place, again missing out on a place in the final. He featured in all eight of their matches during the round-robin stage of the 2016 Varsity Shield. He scored a single try in their 30–5 victory over the UFH Blues, as UWC finishing in second place on the log after had twelve points deducted for fielding an ineligible player in their matches. Mthethwa started the final, where UWC again ended on the losing side, with winning the match 39–2, and also started in a

promotion play-off Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

match against fellow Cape Town team . UWC lost the match 5–40 to remain in the Varsity Shield for 2017.

Eastern Province Kings

In August 2016, Mthethwa was contracted by the 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 ...

. He made his debut in the team's 35–49 defeat to 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 ...

, coming on as a replacement for the last quarter of an hour. He made his first start 12 days later as Eastern Province faced in a rescheduled midweek match, and made his third and final appearance of the season as a replacement in their 0–53 loss to the . The Eastern Province Kings endured a torrid season, losing all eight of their matches to finish bottom of the log.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mthethwa, Minenhle South African rugby union players Living people 1991 births People from Empangeni Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Eastern Province Elephants players Rugby union players from KwaZulu-Natal