Wandile Mjekevu – King Edward’S VII Captain

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:34

KES captain Wandile Mjekevu

It's a good year to be captaining KES, a successful year for the great Houghton school and its interesting captain.

Wandile Mjekevu, the captain of the King Edward VII (KES) School 1stXV, was born in Durban but has his roots firmly in the Eastern Cape. Having attended Dale Junior School in King William’s Town, he moved to Selbourne College in East London in Grade 8.  At the end of Grade 10 the famous King Edward VII School in Houghton, Gauteng came knocking and Wandile felt he needed a change. Enticed by the opportunities and bright lights of Johannesburg he hasn’t looked back. 

Wandile certainly made his mark at KES, as after only one year at the school and despite being young for his class (he turns only 17 this year) he was made Head Boy of the school of 1100 boys, as well as First XV captain. This is a huge achievement and one which Wandile is rightfully proud of. Wandile says many doubted his ability to integrate successfully at KES but that he worked hard and always believed in himself.

What struck Wandile and what made him want to succeed when he arrived at KES, was exactly what struck me when I visited KES earlier this year, the pride, spirit and brotherhood amongst the boy’s. Wandile says that these attributes are nurtured from the start of Grade 8 and are constantly enhanced with references to KES’s sporting heroes like Bryan Habana and Joe van Niekerk. Anyone who has ever attended the main game on the Saturday at the KES Easter Sports Festival will certainly attest to the fact that this pride, spirit and brotherhood continue unabated after school.

Wandile lives in the Buxton hostel at KES and is a sound academic, who in addition to rugby participates in basketball and athletics. Sports, which have helped hone the undoubted strengths of his play. Wandile is quick with good feet and soft hands. Being tall for a centre Wandile has the ability to free his hands and offload in the tackle. This ability has certainly helped bring the other KES gam- breakers, their bustling hooker and athletic loose-trio, into the game. Wandile has formed an exciting partnership with Jarred Meyer, who Wandile says provides his team with great go-forward.

Although being very similar in attributes to Lions and Bok centre Jacque Fourie Wandile lists his rugby heroes as Brian O’Driscoll, Matt Giteau and Yannick Jauzion, arguably the cream of current international crop.

Wandile represented the Gauteng Lions at the Grant Khomo Under-16 Week last year. The week started slowly for him as he found his feet, but he was very pleased with his man-of-the-match performance against Western Province in the final match. He has made it through to the final Lions Craven Week trials this year and is hopeful of making the team. Fortunately for him though the Lions have seen his potential and have already contracted him for next year. Wandile intends to study B.Comm. (LLB) at either Wits or the University of Johannesburg (UJ), while pursuing his rugby career.

The KES 1st XV are in the midst of a great season. They have played ten games and have won eight, losing only to Pretoria Boy’s High and Waterkloof. They performed well at their own KES Easter Sports Festival and have just returned unbeaten from the Queen’s College 150th Celebration. With five players in the KES 1st XV who attended Dale Junior and with Wandile’s parents still living in King William’s Town, going to Queen’s was like a mini-homecoming. Wandile said it was great for the Eastern Cape “old-boys” to return to their roots and perform so well.

At Queen’s, KES beat the hosts and Wandile says he hopes that the Queen’s victory can be a springboard for them to win their two remaining big matches of the season - the return fixture against Pretoria Boy’s High in Pretoria and the visit by Westville from KwaZulu-Natal.

Wandile Mjekevu has already proved himself both on and off the field to be a man of great talent and character. Having already achieved so much there can be no doubt that he will continue to succeed in rugby and in life, and in so doing bring more pride, spirit and brotherhood to the “Red Army” of KES.