Full name Masixole Banda Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Weight 69 kg (10 st 12 lb) Name Coyi Banda | |
Born 11 June 1988 (age 35)
Port Elizabeth, South Africa ( 1988-06-11 ) School(s) attended Ithembelihle High School, New Brighton University University of Fort Hare Playing position | ||
Masixole 'Coyi' Banda (born 11 June 1988 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Kings in Super Rugby and the Border Bulldogs in the domestic Currie Cup. He can play as a fly-half, winger or fullback.
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Youth and amateur rugby
Banda played his school rugby at Ithembelihle High School, New Brighton until 2010 under the tutelage of Theo Pieterse, who guided the school to being named the School Team of the Year in 2012.
He was also named in the Eastern Province U19 squad for the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship competition and played for them at Under-21 level during the 2010 and 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship seasons, making six starts. He was also included in an Eastern Province Kings side that played against the South Africa Under-20 side in 2011, scoring eleven points in a 31–16 defeat.
Banda then joined club side African Bombers. In 2012, Banda started six matches for the UFH Blues in the 2012 Varsity Shield competition – being named the Player that Rocks in their match against UWC – and in 2013, he played for the Bombers in the 2013 SARU Community Cup competition, starting in four of their matches in the competition.
Eastern Province Kings
In 2014, the Eastern Province Kings announced that several club players would join their wider training squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup. Banda was included in the training squad and was subsequently included in their squad for the tournament.
He made his first class debut against the Border Bulldogs in Grahamstown and scored two first-half tries on debut to help the Kings to a 60–6 against their Eastern Cape rivals.
After making five appearances in the Vodacom Cup competition, however, he was dropped for disciplinary reasons after he played in matches for club side African Bombers and not showing up for training sessions.