Tapiwa Lloyd Mafura was born on 11 April 1996 in Harare, Zimbabwe. His regular position is fullback or wing.

In 2010 Mafura represented the North-West Leopards at the Under-18 Academy Week. After high school, he fell in with the Falcons' youth structures and made five appearances for the Falcons U19 side in Group B of the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, helping them reach the semi-finals.

In 2012, he made three starts for the Falcons U21s in the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring two tries in their match against Griffons U21s in a 31–27 victory.

He played for the NWU Pukke in the Varisty Cup Competition in 2017-'18.

He was included in the North-West Leopards' senior squad for the 2017 SuperSport Challenge and made his first-class debut on 22 April 2017 by starting their round one match against the Griffons in Welkom, Northern Free State, at fullback. He played in eight games in this series.

His Currie Cup debut came on 25 August 2017 in a match against the South Western Districts Eagles at Potchefstroom. He made seven appearances in the 2017 Currie Cup Competition. He played in 26 matches (2017-'18) for the Leopards scoring six tries.

Tapiwa moved to Bloemfontein, and he played his first of six matches for the Free State XV in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge against the Sharks XV in Bloemfontein on 27 April 2019. He played three right-wing matches and three fullback games, scoring six tries.

Mafura made his first and only Currie Cup appearance for the Toyota Cheetahs on 2 August 2020 against the Golden Lions at the Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein.

He then settled in Mbombela, playing 27 games for the Pumas in 2020-'22. Tapiwa was involved in the Puma team that in 2022 won the Currie Cup for the first time in the history of this Lowveld union by defeating first the Toyota Cheetahs on 18 June 2022 in the semi-final in Bloemfontein and then on 25 June 2022 in the final in Kimberley to beat Griquas 26-19.

Mafura announced after the final that he would continue his career in Bloemfontein with the Toyota Cheetahs.

Mafura (26) was part of the Toyota Cheetahs squad in 2019 when the Cheetahs last won the Currie Cup but was not in action for them in the semi-finals or final.

He makes it clear that he likes playing full back more than wing.

Mafura is part of the 2023 Currie Cup winner's squad.