Mlungisi Bali
| Date of birth | 1 June 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | East London, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 3 January 2018 (aged 27) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | East London, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16 st 7 lb; 231 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St. Alban's College, Pretoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mlungisi Bali (1 June 1990 – 3 January 2018) was a South African rugby union player that played first class rugby for the Template:Rut Griffons in 2013 and 2014, and also represented the South Africa Under-20 at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship.[1] His regular position was lock.
Career
Youth
He represented East London side the Template:Rut Border Bulldogs at the 2006 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week before moving to Pretoria to attend St. Alban's College. He was selected in the Template:Rut Blue Bulls' Under–18 Craven Week side in 2007 (which led to him being named in a South African Schools Academy side that faced the South African Schools side)[2] and in 2008 (which led to his inclusion in the main South African Schools side).[3]
He played for the Template:Rut Blue Bulls U19 side in the 2008 and 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championships and for the Template:Rut Blue Bulls U21 side in the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship. In 2010, he was selected for the South Africa Under-20 side that played at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina. He was an unused reserve in their first match against Tonga,[4] but started in their 73–0 victory over Scotland.[5] He played off the bench in their remaining three matches – the final pool stage match against Australia,[6] their 36–7 semi-final defeat to eventual winners New Zealand[7] and their third-place play-off match against England.[8]
Griffons
Bali failed to break into the first team at the Template:Rut Blue Bulls and made the move to Welkom to join the Template:Rut Griffons prior to the 2013 season. He made his provincial first class debut for them during the 2013 Vodacom Cup competition when he started their match against the Template:Rut Limpopo Blue Bulls.[9] After making a total of seven appearances in the 2013 Vodacom Cup, he was also included in their Currie Cup side and made his debut in that competition on 10 August 2013, in a match against the Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers.[10] He made a total of six appearances in the competition and the same amount in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, all of them from the start.
Death
Bali was the victim of a stabbing incident at a traditional homecoming ceremony in Mdantsane in December 2017.[11] He was admitted to Frere Hospital in East London, where he died from his injuries on 3 January 2018, aged 27.[12]
References
- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Mlungisi Bali". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "Nuwe blaadjie vir Leeus se Rudy Paige" (in Afrikaans). Beeld. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Spanne nog nie almal bekend". Beeld. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Match Details : South Africa v Tonga". IRB. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Match Details : South Africa v Scotland". IRB. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Match Details : South Africa v Australia". IRB. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Match Details : New Zealand v South Africa". IRB. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Match Details : England v South Africa". IRB. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 14–50 Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 35–55 Regent Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Suspect arrested for murder of former junior Springbok player". IOL. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ "Vodacom Bulls remember Mlungisi Bali" (Press release). Bulls. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.