Somila Jho Explained

Somila Jho
Birth Date:25 August 1995
Birth Place:King William's Town, South Africa
School:Dale College, King William's Town
Kingswood College, Grahamstown
University:Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Relatives:Andile Jho (brother)
Position:Centre
Youthyears1:2011–2013
Youthyears2:2015–2017
Years1:2016
Apps1:13
Points1:25
Years2:2018
Apps2:14
Points2:20
Clubupdate:27 October 2018

Somila Jho (born 25 August 1995 in King William's Town, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who last played for the in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is outside centre.

Rugby career

Youth rugby

Jho attended Dale College in his home town of King William's Town and played first team rugby for them for three years from 2011 to 2013. He also represented his local provincial side, the, during this time. In 2011, he played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in nearby Queenstown, playing as a flanker for Border in matches against KwaZulu-Natal and Boland scoring a try in the latter match. He was included in their squad for the Under-18 Craven Week – South Africa's most prestigious high schools rugby union tournament – in both 2012 and 2013. He was mainly used as a replacement during the 2012 tournament held in Port Elizabeth, but still weighed in with a try in their defeat to Limpopo. He started all three their matches at the 2013 event; after scoring a try in their 38–20 victory over Namibia in the first match, he also scored a brace in their 37–19 victory in the second match to finish the tournament as their second-highest try-scorer.

At the end of 2013, Jho moved to Grahamstown to enroll at Kingswood College, which is in the ' catchment area[1] and he subsequently joined the academy of the Port Elizabeth-based union for the 2015 season.[2] He played in all twelve of s' matches during the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship, the first season that the team competed in Group A of this competition, having won promotion from Group B in 2014. Jho was one of the top performers for a team that struggled to adjust at this level (winning just one of their matches), scoring five tries in the competition. His first try came in their Round Three match in a 13–44 defeat to and he followed this up with braces in their only win of the competition against – winning 25–15 – and against in a 15–33 defeat in Round Ten. His five tries were the most by any Eastern Province player and he was also the team's second-highest points scorer, with his contribution of 25 points just four less than that of fly-half MC Venter.

Eastern Province Kings

Serious financial problems at the at the end of the 2015 season saw a number of first team regulars leave the union[3] and Jho was among a number of youngsters that were promoted to the squad that competed in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He was named in the starting lineup for their first match of the season against the, playing the entire 80 minutes in a 14–37 defeat. He started their second match of the season away to the in a match that saw Jho score the first senior try of his career in an 18–37 defeat. After starting their next match against the, he scored another try away to Namibian side in a 31–18 victory, his team's first win in the competition. A third try followed in their Round Seven match against a, but was a mere consolation in a 15–35 defeat.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Andile Jho, who also played first class rugby for the . On 14 May 2016, the two brothers played together in a first class match for the first time when they were named as the starting centre-pairing for their 2016 Currie Cup qualification defeat to in Cape Town.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dale College rugby weakened by the Kings . Schoolboy Rugby . 23 October 2013 . 25 May 2016.
  2. Web site: EP Kings Sign 19 Schoolboys For 2015 . Youth Sports Network . 5 December 2014 . 25 May 2016.
  3. Web site: Kings facing player exodus? . Rugby365 . 11 November 2015 . 11 November 2015.