| Intro | South African rugby union player |
| Is | Athlete |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 19 June 1990 |
| Age: | 30 years |
| Star sign | Gemini |
Zingisa Nelson April (born (1990-06-19)19 June 1990 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Griffons. He normally plays as a flanker.
Career
Youth / club rugby
April played his school rugby at Ithembelihle High School, New Brighton until 2009 under the tutelage of Theo Pieterse, who guided the school to being named the School Team of the Year in 2012.
He joined the Eastern Province Academy after high school and represented the Eastern Province U19 side in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring tries in their matches against Border U19 and Pumas U19 as they won all six of their matches in the regular season. He also started in their semi-final victory over the Falcons U19s and the final, which they lost to Boland U19s.
He was a key member for the Eastern Province U21 side over the next two seasons, making eight appearances in both the 2010 and 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championships. April enjoyed a similar season in 2010 than he did in 2009 with the Under-19s; he helped the side to top the log after the regular season and then made it the way to the final, where they were defeated, this time by the Falcons U21s. This was once again the case in 2011, as the side reached the final, which they lost to the Border U21 side in Wellington.
He wasn’t offered a senior contract by Eastern Province and played amateur club rugby for Spring Rose. He also played sevens rugby for the Eye of the Tiger Academy and later played club rugby in George.
Free State XV : 2014
In 2014, April joined Bloemfontein-based side Free State XV for the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. He made his first class debut by starting their 52–47 victory over the SWD Eagles in their first match in the competition. He also started their next match, a 28–20 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Malmesbury, scoring his first senior try in the final ten minutes of the match. He started their matches against the Sharks XV, Border Bulldogs and Western Province, as well as their final match of the regular season against Kenyan side Simba XV. April scored four tries in a match that saw Free State win 77–10 to finish in second position on the Northern Section log to qualify for the quarter finals. April scored another try in their quarter final match the Blue Bulls; however, it wasn’t enough as the side form Pretoria won 22–21 to eliminate the Free State XV from the competition. April’s six tries was the joint-highest for his side, along with centre Nico Lee.
Lowestoft & Yarmouth
In September 2014, April – along with scrum-half Unathi Kongwana – joined English side Lowestoft & Yarmouth on an exchange deal sponsored by Canterbury South Africa. He made four appearances for the team in the London 3 North East league, scoring a try in each of his first three matches and a brace in his final match, a 37–27 victory over Billericay.
Free State XV : 2015
April once again played for the Free State XV in the 2015 Vodacom Cup. He made five appearances and scored tries in their matches against the Boland Cavaliers and against his hometown side, the Eastern Province Kings in a 50–45 victory. The Free State XV again qualified for the quarter finals, where they lost to the Blue Bulls for the second consecutive year. April came on as a replacement in their 21–44 defeat in Pretoria.
Griffons
April joined Welkom-based side the Griffons prior to the 2016 season.