Chiliboy Ralepelle

Career

Ralepelle attended Pretoria Boys High School and played for the South African Schools team in 2002 and 2003. He represented the South African Under-19 side in 2004 and again in 2005, also moving up to the national Under-21 team that year. He captained the Under-21s at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship in France, where South Africa reached the final but lost 13–24 to the hosts. While still eligible for Under-19 rugby in 2005, he was named in a squad for the 2005 Vodacom Cup but did not appear; he did captain a side in the Under-19 Provincial Championship.

His first-class debut came in the opening match of the 2006 Super 14 season, entering as a last-minute replacement in a 30–18 victory. He made one more bench appearance before moving to the Vodacom Cup squad, where he played five matches and scored his first senior try in a 30–6 win. Despite limited Super Rugby experience, he was selected for the Springboks' 2006 Tri Nations Series. He was an unused bench replacement for the second test, then made his Springbok debut as a late substitute on 26 August 2006 in Pretoria at age 19.

He was an unused replacement in the final two Tri Nations games. On the 2006 Northern Hemisphere tour, he was an unused bench replacement in one match and the first test, then appeared as a substitute in the second test at Twickenham. For the final tour match, he captained the national team against the World XV at Walkers Stadium in Leicester, becoming the first black player and the youngest to do so. In 2007 he made a single Super 14 appearance before a serious knee injury ended his year.

He returned for pre-season matches ahead of 2008 but reinjured his knee during the captain's run before a warm-up match.