Zingisa Nelson April (born 19 June 1990) 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 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 in the Rugby Challenge. He normally plays as a flanker.

Career

Youth / club rugby

April played his school rugby at Ithembelihle High School, New Brighton until 2009 under the tutelage of Theo Pieterse, who guided the school to being named the School Team of the Year in 2012. He joined the Eastern Province Academy after high school and represented the side in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring tries in their matches against and as they won all six of their matches in the regular season. He also started in their semi-final victory over the s and the final, which they lost to s. He was a key member for the side over the next two seasons, making eight appearances in both the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

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 ...

Under-21 Provincial Championships. April enjoyed a similar season in 2010 than he did in 2009 with the Under-19s; he helped the side to top the log after the regular season and then made it the way to the final, where they were defeated, this time by the s. This was once again the case in 2011, as the side reached the final, which they lost to the side in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He wasn't offered a senior contract by Eastern Province and played amateur club rugby for Spring Rose. He also played sevens rugby for the Eye of the Tiger Academy and later played club rugby in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Free State XV : 2014

In 2014, April joined

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 ...

-based side for 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 made his first class debut by starting their 52–47 victory over the in their first match in the competition. He also started their next match, a 28–20 victory over the in

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...

, scoring his first senior try in the final ten minutes of the match. He started their matches against the , and , as well as their final match of the regular season against

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n side . April scored four tries in a match that saw Free State win 77–10 to finish in second position on the Northern Section log to qualify for the quarter finals. April scored another try in their quarter final match the ; however, it wasn't enough as the side form

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 ...

won 22–21 to eliminate the Free State XV from the competition. April's six tries was the joint-highest for his side, along with centre

Nico Lee Nicolaas Jacobus Lee (born 13 March 1994 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for French Top 14 side . His regular position is centre. Youth Lee played schoolboy rugby for Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria, but ...

Lowestoft & Yarmouth

In September 2014, April – along with scrum-half Unathi Kongwana – joined English side Lowestoft & Yarmouth on an exchange deal sponsored by Canterbury South Africa. He made four appearances for the team in the London 3 North East league, scoring a try in each of his first three matches and a brace in his final match, a 37–27 victory over

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

Free State XV : 2015

April once again played for the in 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 ...

. He made five appearances and scored tries in their matches against the and against his hometown side, the in a 50–45 victory. The Free State XV again qualified for the quarter finals, where they lost to the for the second consecutive year. April came on as a replacement in their 21–44 defeat in Pretoria.

Griffons

April joined

Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The cit ...

-based side the prior to the 2016 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:April, Zingisa South African rugby union players Living people 1990 births Rugby union players from Port Elizabeth Rugby union flankers Free State Cheetahs players Griffons (rugby union) players Eastern Province Elephants players