Rowan Gouws Explained

Rowan Gouws
Fullname:Rowan Petrus Christiaan Gouws
Birth Date:6 August 1995
Birth Place:Richards Bay, South Africa
School:Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg, Middelburg
University:University of KwaZulu-Natal
Position:Scrum-half
Youthyears1:2008–2013
Youthyears2:2014–2016
Years1:2016–2017
Apps1:8
Points1:0
Years2:2017–2018
Apps2:2
Points2:5
Years3:2017–2018
Apps3:11
Points3:0
Years4:2020–
Amatyears1:2015
Clubupdate:6 May 2021

Rowan Petrus Christiaan Gouws (born 6 August 1995) is a South African rugby union player who currently plays for Rugby ATL of Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. His regular position is scrum-half.

He previously played for the in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge.

Rugby career

Schoolboy rugby

Gouws was born in Richards Bay, but grew up in Mpumalanga, where he attended Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg. He represented the local rugby union, the at the Under-13 Craven Week in 2008, the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011 and the Under-18 Craven Week held in Polokwane in 2013.

Sharks

After school, he moved to Durban to join the academy. He played for their Under-19 team in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship and for their Under-21 team in the Under-21 Provincial Championships in 2015 and 2016. He also played in the 2015 Varsity Shield competition with the .

He made his first class debut in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series, coming on as a replacement in the 's 32–37 defeat to the in East London. He made a further five starts and two appearances as a replacement for the Sharks XV in the 2017 Rugby Challenge competition.[1]

Eastern Province Kings / Southern Kings

In the second half of 2017, Gouws moved to Port Elizabeth to continue his rugby career. After a single match for the in the 2017 Currie Cup First Division against the in Welkom, he appeared for the in their inaugural season in the Pro14 competition.[2] He made his debut in the competition as a replacement against the in Newport.[3] After a further three appearances as a replacement, he made his first start in their match against the in Port Elizabeth,[4] eventually playing in eleven matches for a Southern Kings side that finished bottom of Conference B with just a single victory all season.

Gouws also played for the – the new name for the Eastern Province Kings – in the 2018 Rugby Challenge.

Notes and References

  1. Book: South African Rugby Annual 2018 . South African Rugby Union . 2018 . 464 . 978-0-620-78461-0.
  2. Web site: Squad: Southern Kings . South African Rugby Union . 9 June 2018.
  3. Web site: Amos and Dee power Dragons to comfortable victory . Guinness Pro14 . 30 September 2017 . 1 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170930222615/http://www.pro14rugby.org/report/hallam-dee-power-dragons-comfortable-victory . 30 September 2017 . live . dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Nico Lee hat-trick fires Toyota Cheetahs to win . Guinness Pro14 . 13 January 2018 . 15 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180115060053/https://www.pro14rugby.org/report/nico-lee-hat-trick-fires-toyota-cheetahs-win . 15 January 2018 . live . dmy-all.