Chiliboy Ralepelle
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Mahlatse "Chiliboy" Ralepelle (born 11 September 1986 in Tzaneen, South Africa), generally referred to by his nickname, is a South African rugby union footballer. His usual position is at hooker. He plays for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup club competition and the Bulls in the international Super 14 competition.
Ralepelle was a member of the Nike Allstar under-15 squad in 2001, and went on to play for the SA Schools team then next year, at only 16 years of age. He played for the SA Schools team again in 2003, and went onto play for South Africa under-19s in 2004.
He was a member of both the victorious under-19 and under-21 South African sides in 2005, captaining the under-19 side to victory at the 2005 IRB U19 World Championship. Also in 2005, he made his senior provincial debut for the Blue Bulls. He made his debut for the Bulls in the 2006 Super 14 season, coming on as a replacement in two matches, then going back to the Vodacom Cup to further develop.
Ralepelle captained the under-21 Springboks at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship in France. South Africa made it to the final of the tournament, but were defeated by the hosts, France. He was subsequently included in the Springboks' 2006 Tri Nations Series squad, something which had been widely speculated within the media.
Head coach Jake White named Ralepelle on the bench for the second test against Australia, in Sydney. White said in a media conference in Sydney that he is confident in the team, and added that Ralepelle had done very well at age-group level and deserved his chance.[1] However it would be in Pretoria when he would make his Springbok on August 26, coming off the bench as a replacement. He was an unused bench replacement in the final two Tri Nations games as well.
Ralepelle was then included in the South African squad for the tour to the Northern Hemisphere. He was an unused bench replacement in the match against Ireland, and the first Test against England. He then came off the bench in the second Test at Twickenham. For the last match of the tour, Ralepelle was named as captain for the match against the World XV at Walkers Stadium in Leicester, and thus becoming the first black and the youngest player to captain the national team.
