Tonderai Chavhanga facts for kids

Tonderai Chavhanga, born on December 24, 1983, is a famous South African rugby union player. He played for the national team, known as the Springboks, in four international matches.

Early Life and Rugby Beginnings

Tonderai Chavhanga was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. His mother raised him and was a very important person in his life. She worked in construction and even built the house where he grew up. Even though they didn't have much money, his mother always supported him.

Tonderai started playing rugby in Grade 5 at Blakiston Primary School in Harare. Even when he was young, everyone could see how fast he was. He was much quicker than other kids his age. He played on the first team for his primary school for three years in a row. He also made the Harare Schools Representative team for three years, playing as a fullback.

Chavhanga later went to Prince Edward School in Zimbabwe on a scholarship. He made history there by becoming the youngest player ever to join the school's first team.

Rugby Career Highlights

Tonderai Chavhanga played for the Stormers in the international Super Rugby competition. He left Cape Town in 2010 to join the Lions team.

Playing for the Springboks

Chavhanga made his first international appearance for the Springboks when he was 21 years old. This happened on June 11, 2005. He played on the right wing against the Uruguay team in East London. The Springboks won that game by a huge score of 134–3. Chavhanga scored six tries in that match, which is a record for the most tries scored by a South African player in one game! He couldn't play in the matches at the end of that year because of a leg muscle injury.

He was also chosen to be part of the Springboks team that traveled to New Zealand and Australia. He was a reserve player for the game against the All Blacks in Christchurch. Tonderai was incredibly fast; he could run 100 meters in just 10.27 seconds. This might make him the fastest rugby player in South African history.

Playing in Wales

In September 2011, Chavhanga joined a Welsh rugby team called Newport Gwent Dragons. He played for them until the end of the 2012–2013 season. After that, he returned to South Africa. He joined the Free State Cheetahs team for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.

International Match Record

Here is a list of Tonderai Chavhanga's international matches for the Springboks:

No.	Opponents	Results (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Dates	Venue
1.	Uruguay	134–3	Wing	6	11 June 2005	Basil Kenyon Stadium, East London
2.	New Zealand	6–33	Replacement		14 July 2007	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
3.	Wales	43–17	Wing		7 June 2008	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
4.	Wales	37–21	Wing		14 June 2008	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Speaking Out for Fairness

Tonderai Chavhanga is also known for speaking out against unfair treatment of people from other countries. In 2008, there were some attacks against foreigners in South Africa. As a Springbok player, he spoke to the media about these events. He also proudly shared that he is a Shona, which is an ethnic group from Zimbabwe.

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 768