 Maxwane in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Sibahle Ndiphiwe Maxwane | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1995-08-14)14 August 1995 (age 30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb; 13 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Dale College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sibahle Ndiphiwe 'Rabz' Maxwane (born 14 August 1995) is a South Africanrugby union player for theCheetahs in thePro14 and theFree State Cheetahs in theCurrie Cup.[1] He usually plays on the wing.
Maxwane was born inQueenstown and attendedDale College Boys' High School in nearbyKing William's Town, playing first team rugby for Dale College in 2013 and 2014.[2][3]
He earned some provincial colours too, when he was named in the Border squad for the 2013 Under-18 Academy Week held inDurban.[4]
Maxwane joined the Western Province Rugby Institute for the 2014 season.[5] He was named in theWestern Province U19 squad for the2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship, but failed to make any appearances in the competition.[6] However, he did feature for a Western Province Rugby Academy XV in a match against aFrance Under-18 team in August 2014.[7]
He was in action for Western Province in 2015, making nine appearances in theUnder-21 Provincial Championship. He scored two tries in their 50–14 victory overLeopards U21[8] as his team finished top of the log after the round-robin stage,[9] but an injury ruled him out of the play-off matches[10] that saw Western Province crowned champions after beatingFree State U21 in the final.[11]
He also joined the South Africa Sevens academy, where he was named in theBlitzboks wider training squad that prepared for the2016 Summer Olympics.[12]
In April 2016, Maxwane made his first class debut, starting their2016 Currie Cup qualification match against theBlue Bulls.[13] After another start against theFree State XV,[14] he scored his first senior try in a 27–24 victory over theGolden Lions XV in his next match.[15] He made three more starts and two appearances off the bench in the competition, scoring his second try in his final appearance for the team in a 45–17 victory over theSWD Eagles.[16]
He returned to the Under-21 team, starting all eight of their matches in the2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored one try against theBlue Bulls U21s[17] and two against theGolden Lions U21[18] during the regular season to help Western Province finish top of the log.[19] He scored a decisive try in a 26–23 victory overFree State U21 in the semi-finals[20] and his fifth of the season in the final, where his team fell just short, losing 34–38 to the Golden Lions.[21] He finished as his team's top try scorer, and just one behind the top try scorers in the competition, theLeopards U21s' Elden Schoeman and theSharks U21s'Tristan Blewett,[22] and was also named the team's best back of the season at the annual awards ceremony.[23]
At the end of the 2016 season, thePretoria-basedBlue Bulls announced that Maxwane would join them for the 2017 season;[24] he was subsequently also included in theBullsSuper Rugby squad for the2017 season.[25]