Rowan Gouws

Rowan Gouws

Full name	Rowan Petrus Christiaan Gouws
Date of birth	(1995-08-06) 6 August 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Richards Bay, South Africa
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight	80 kg (180 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
School	Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg, Middelburg
University	University of KwaZulu-Natal
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Youth career 2008–2013 Pumas 2014–2016 Sharks Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2015 UKZN Impi () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016–2017 Sharks XV 8 (0) 2017–2018 Eastern Province Elephants 2 (5) 2017–2018 Southern Kings 11 (0) 2020– Rugby ATL () Correct as of 6 May 2021

Rowan Petrus Christiaan Gouws (born (1995-08-06)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 Eastern Province Elephants in the Currie Cup and the Rugby Challenge.[1]

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 Pumas 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.[1]

Sharks

After school, he moved to Durban to join the Sharks 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 UKZN Impi.

He made his first class debut in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series, coming on as a replacement in the Sharks XV's 32–37 defeat to the Border Bulldogs in East London.[2] He made a further five starts and two appearances as a replacement for the Sharks XV in the 2017 Rugby Challenge competition.[3]

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 Eastern Province Kings in the 2017 Currie Cup First Division against the Griffons in Welkom, he appeared for the Southern Kings in their inaugural season in the Pro14 competition.[4] He made his debut in the competition as a replacement against the Dragons in Newport.[5] After a further three appearances as a replacement, he made his first start in their match against the Cheetahs in Port Elizabeth,[6] 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 Eastern Province Elephants – the new name for the Eastern Province Kings – in the 2018 Rugby Challenge.

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Rowan Gouws". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border 37–32 Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
3. South African Rugby Annual 2018. South African Rugby Union. 2018. p. 464. ISBN 978-0-620-78461-0.
4. "Squad: Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
5. "Amos and Dee power Dragons to comfortable victory". Guinness Pro14. 30 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
6. "Nico Lee hat-trick fires Toyota Cheetahs to win". Guinness Pro14. 13 January 2018. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.