Mthokozisi Cyprial 'Zee' Mkhabela (born 15 October 1994) is a South African rugby union player for the in the

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 ...

and the in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is scrum-half. He recently signed for Spanish Club Valladoid for the 21/22 season, having previously played for his Local side College Rovers.

Career

KwaZulu-Natal (2010–12)

In 2010, Mkhabela was called up to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament held in Upington. The following year, he was selected in a South African Academy team that played against a France Under-18 team in Durban and in 2012, he represented KwaZulu-Natal at the premier South African schools competition, the Under-18 Craven Week.

Free State Cheetahs / UFS Shimlas / South Africa Under-20 (2013–)

After high school, Mkhabela moved to Bloemfontein to join the prior to the 2013 season. He made ten appearances for the team, scoring a try in their match against the s. In 2014, Mkhabela was selected for the South Africa Under-20 squad that participated in the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

in New Zealand. He started the first match of the competition, a 61–5 victory over Scotland, but was an unused replacement in their other two pool stage matches against New Zealand and Samoa. He was again named on the bench for their semi-final win over New Zealand without getting any game time, as well as in the final against England, where South Africa suffered a 20–21 defeat. Mkhabela got more game time upon his return to domestic action, playing eleven times in the s'

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 ...

season, helping them qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual losing finalists . In 2015, Mkhabela was included in the squad for the

2015 Varsity Cup The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

. He made seven appearances for the Shimlas pool stages of the tournament as Shimlas finished second on the log, but missed out on the play-offs as Shimlas won the competition for the first time, beating 63–33 in the final. After the tournament, Mkhabela was named as the replacement scrum-half in a Varsity Cup Dream Team that played a match against the 2015 South African Under-20 squad, with the latter winning the match 31–24. Mkhabela was named in the ' squad for 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 ...

and was named on the bench for their opening match of the competition against the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mkhabela, Zee South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births People from Empangeni Rugby union scrum-halves Free State Cheetahs players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Rugby union players from KwaZulu-Natal