Hlanga Nodongwe – Gill College captain
Player Profile
Gill College of Somerset East host Cradock High in a FNB Classic Clash on Saturday. Hlanga Nodongwe captains the host team.
Hlanga Nodongwe was born in Uitenhage on 20 March 1988. He attended junior school there before being offered a bursary at Gill College from Grade 8. Currently in Grade 12 he is a hostel prefect.
In junior school Hlanga played mostly flyhalf and fullback but now finds himself at inside centre, and so he refers to himself as a utility back. Hlanga played Eastern Province Under-13 and Under-16 and for EP Country Districts this year. He also plays cricket for the 1st XI and represented EP Country Districts as a middle-order batsman as well. Rugby is his first love though and Hlanga fortunately was spotted at the Coutry Districts week in Jeffery’s Bay by talent scouts from the Cheetahs. He is hoping to further his rugby there next year.
Having played all over the backline Hlanga is a good attacking player. Standing 1.80 metres tall and 85kgs he can more than hold his own on defence. His favourite player is Stephen Larkham who Hlanga says controls the game and all the players around him beautifully.
Gill College are coming to the end of a superb season. They have only lost one game and that was by one point to Muir College. They are unbeaten in their local league and their best win to date according to Hlanga was their 44-nil annihilation of Stirling High from East London. Cradock are having their best season for a long time though, and Hlanga is expecting a tough game on Saturday but is backing his boys to pull through.
Hlanga says that his forwards have dominated all opposition this season and this has been the key to their success. They have good players in very position though and the backs have more than pulled their weight. The game against Cradock is the last game of the season and although Hlanga is excited he is also sad. Having played three years for the 1st XV he says he has played over fifty matches and would like to go out with a bang.