Siphosethu Tom (born 12 February 1992) is a South African

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, currently playing with the . He can play as a wing or at centre.

Personal life

Tom was born in Port Elizabeth to Kwenzekile Eric Tom and Nomamerika Yvonne Tom. His mother is from

Gugulethu Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s. History The ...

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 ...

while his father is from

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort (Xhosa: iBhofolo) is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluen ...

, where the family has settled. Both of Tom's parents work at Tower Rehabilitation Hospital in Fort Beaufort.

Rugby career

Tom began his rugby career at primary school level. He attended Fort Beaufort Primary School, and was selected to represent Eastern Province at the 2005 Under-13 Craven Week tournament. He moved to

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 ...

to continue his secondary education at Grey College, where he also continued to play rugby. He represented the Free State province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournaments in both 2007 and 2008, and at South Africa's premier high school rugby union event, 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 tou ...

, in both 2009 and 2010, scoring two tries in the unofficial final against Western Province in the latter. Tom played for the team in 2010 and 2011, and made his first class debut for a in the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, ...

, starting their match against the in the opening of the season and scoring a late try to help his team to a 34–30 victory. After making a single appearance for in the

2013 Varsity Cup The 2013 Varsity Cup was contested from 4 February to 8 April 2013. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univer ...

, Tom featured in a further five matches for the Free State XV in the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th 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 ...

, scoring his second senior try in a 32–38 defeat to Argentine invitational side in Round Six of the competition. He also scored three tries in seven appearances for the team in the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

. He scored two tries in seven appearances for UFS Shimlas in the

2014 Varsity Cup The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, and made one final appearance in a Free State XV shirt in their

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 ...

match against the . Tom returned to the province of his birth, the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, to join

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

-based for their final three matches in the

2015 Currie Cup First Division The 2015 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 August to 8 October 2015. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union compet ...

. He made his

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 ...

debut in a 19–31 defeat to and scored his first try in that competition in a 30–32 defeat to the a week later. After a single appearance for the in the 2016 Varsity Shield, he made nine first class appearances for the Border Bulldogs in 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 f ...

series, scoring tries against the and former side , and made a further four appearances in the 2016 Currie Cup First Division.

Player statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom, Sethu South African rugby union players Living people 1992 births Rugby union players from Port Elizabeth Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Border Bulldogs players Free State Cheetahs players