Toyota Cheetahs announce new captain
Victor Sekekete has been named the Toyota Cheetahs captain for the Toyota Challenge and EPCR Challenge Cup.
Sekekete takes the reigns from Ruan Pienaar, who led the team in 35 games.
“I’m nearing the end of my rugby career, and I want to focus on my game and enjoy it without the extra pressure of captaincy.” Said Pienaar. Ruan will still play a vital role in the team’s leadership group.
Victor is a natural leader and is respected by the players. He is the leader of the frontline and makes the line-out decisions.
“It’s a great honour for me to captain the Toyota Cheetahs. I’m humbled to have the backing of the coaches and players to allow me to lead on and off the field and to be trusted with this big responsibility. I’m looking forward to the journey.” said Sekekete
Victor joined the Toyota Cheetahs on 1 November 2020 and, since then, played in 33 matches for the Bloemfontein side, scoring three tries. Sekekete has been a regular starting team member for the past two seasons and recently received the Toyota Cheetahs Forward Award for the 2022 Carling Currie Cup season.
Together with Ruan Pienaar, he is the only player to have played in all 13 Currie Cup games in 2022.
He played 27 Currie Cup matches (2 tries), 3 Preparation matches and three Toyota Challenge matches (1 try) for the Toyota Cheetahs.
Victor Kutlwano Sekekete was born on 28 January 1994 in Johannesburg, where he attended Queens High School. In 2012, he represented the Golden Lions at the premier rugby union competition for high schools in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week. He started all three of their matches as a lock, as his team qualified to play in the unofficial final match of the tournament, where they lost to Gauteng rivals, the Blue Bulls.
After school, Sekekete joined the Golden Lions academy. He featured in all fourteen of the Golden Lions u19 team’s matches in the 2013 under-19 Provincial Championship, starting thirteen of those and playing off the bench in the other, scoring three tries during the season. They lost in the final 23–35 against the Blue Bulls.
Sekekete started the 2014 season by playing in the Varsity Cup competition for UJ, being utilised as a flanker for the first time. He featured in all seven of their matches.
He represented the SA u.20 team that competed at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand. The BabyBoks lost 20–21 in the final against England.
Sekekete returned to domestic action by making twelve appearances for the Golden Lions U21 team in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
Sekekete made his first-class domestic debut on 13 March 2015, appearing as a replacement in the Golden Lions XV’s 31–21 victory over the Limpopo Blue Bulls.
Victor’s second taste of first-class action came in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series for the Golden Lions XV. He had two starts and came on as a reserve in six matches, scoring a brace of tries in their final game in the competition, a 24–28 loss to the Boland Cavaliers in Grabouw.
Sekekete was then contracted by the Southern Kings for the 2017-’18 seasons, playing in 4 matches, before moving to Kimberley and playing 16 games for the Griquas.
Playing record
Golden Lions u.21 (2014: 12/2t), SA u.20 (2014: 1/0t), Golden Lions XV (2015-’17: 14/1t), Golden Lions (2016: 3/1t), Eastern Province (2017: 2/1t), Southern Kings (2017-’18: 4/0t), Griquas (2019: 16/1t), Toyota Cheetahs (2020-’22: 33/3t).
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