Alulutho Tshakweni
Loose Head Prop
1.82 m
110.00 kg
: Alulutho
: Tshakweni
: 26/09/1998
: East London
Alulutho Tshakweni was born on 26th September 1998 in East London, is the product of Hudson Park High School and earned a provincial call-up at high school level, playing for the Border Bulldogs at the Under-18 Academy Week in 2015 and the Under-18 Craven Week in 2016. For the 2017 season, he moved to the Port Elizabeth-based Eastern Province Kings, playing for their Under-19 team in the 2017 Under-19 Provincial Championship.
In 2018, Tshakweni was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship held in France. He played off the bench in all three of South Africa's matches in Pool C of the competition, featuring in victories over Georgia and Ireland, and scored a try in their final pool match, a 29–46 defeat to the hosts, France. He was promoted to the starting line-up for their semi-final match against England — a 31–32 loss that saw the team eliminated from the Cup competition — and their 3rd-place play-off match against New Zealand, helping them to a 40–30 win.
After the Under-20 competition, Tshakweni joined the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls on a short-term deal for the remainder of the 2018 season and appeared for the Blue Bulls U21 side in the 2018 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try in his side's 149–13 victory over Eastern Province U21. In November 2018, he returned to Port Elizabeth, where he was drafted into the Southern Kings' Pro14 squad. He was named on the bench for their match against Connacht and came on as a yellow card replacement in the 35th minute of the match to make his first-class debut in a 14–31 defeat.
One of his former coaches describes him as a player with a good work rate who covers all bases and doesn't go back in the scrum.