Skip to main content
Menu
♥ Donate
eventREF E-0149150Verified

Event record

Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain

Updated
23 Aug 2019
Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain

Rugby player, Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle was born in Tzaneen on 11 September 1986. Ralepelle moved to Pretoria and attended Pretoria Boys High School, where he joined the rugby team. He was selected for the under- 15 squad in 2001 and the under-19 squad in 2004. Ralepelle made history in 2006 when he became the first Black rugby player to captain the Springboks. In 2010, his reputation was tainted when he was suspended following a drug test that proved positive. It was later discovered though that an energy drink contained a banned substance. Ralepelle was cleared. Currently, Ralepelle plays for the Sharks and has recently (April 2019) been tested positive by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport for the banned drug Zeranol. In public response to these results, he maintains that he did not take any drugs.  

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?
View more events from this day
Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2019, August 23). Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0149150

South African History Online (2019) 'Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain', South African History Online, 23 August. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0149150 (Accessed: 3 August 2026).

South African History Online, Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0149150, (accessed 3 August 2026).

"Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain." South African History Online, 23 Aug. 2019, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0149150. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first Black Springboks captain." South African History Online. August 23, 2019. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0149150.

Further reading

SAHO is free because readers fund it. Donate →

Contribute to this record0 comments

Comments are reader contributions. They are not part of the archival record.