The 7th Article in the set discussing the Southern Kings.

In this Article we look at the contenders for CENTRES in the Southern Kings 2013 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.

The Contenders:

Name: Hadleigh Parkes:

Position Centre Height 1.86 Weight 101 Date of Birth 5 October 1987 Place of Birth Auckland Provincial Debut 2010 for Manawatu Provincial Caps 35 Provincial Points 45 Super Rugby Debut 2012 for the Blues v Bulls Super Rugby Caps 13 Super Rugby Points 10 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

Hadleigh Parkes is one of the “Forbidden” corps of foreign players in the Southern Kings Super Rugby squad.

Parkes made his provincial debut in 2010 for Manawatu. In 2011, he relocated to Auckland and in 2012 made his debut with the Blues. After one season with the Blues, he joined the Kings for the 2013 season on a one-year contract.

Name: Waylon Murray:

Position Centre Height 1.90 Weight 105 Date of Birth 27 April 1986 Place of Birth Durban Provincial Debut 2006 for the Sharks Provincial Caps 72 Provincial Points 90 Super Rugby Debut 2010 for the Lions v Hurricanes Super Rugby Caps 55 Super Rugby Points 40 Test Debut 2007 Test Caps 3 Test Points 0

He went to Westville Boys High School where he was a prefect and head of school in 2003 and played in the 1st XV in 2003. He is represented by Baron Phillips of Infinity Athlete Management, and has an educational sponsor from Boston Business College and Reebok as a technical sponsor.

During his debut season in the 2006 Currie Cup and Super 14 season for the Natal Sharks and Sharks, Murray showed great promise as a quality centre for his provincial team. Parlaying those performances into his debut Super 14 season in 2007, Murray slowly rose to prominence as one of South Africa’s leading centres, owing in no small part to his tenacity on defence and astute ball distribution skills, often, with former provincial team-mate Bradley Barritt, providing a valuable link to the wings and offering stability to The Sharks midfield. Murray’s stunning form saw him being selected for the Springboks away leg of the 2007 Tri-Nations (However he was only selected as the first choice centers were being rested for the World Cup.) The Murray and Barrit partnership was however disrupted after Francois Steyn’s superb performances in the number 12 jersey for the Springboks during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. This meant that Murray had to challenge Barrit for the no. 13 shirt during much of 2008 Super 14 season, but the partnership resumed during the ABSA Currie Cup due to the absence of François Steyn and Adi Jacobs. However, with the return of the Springboks, and with Adi Jacobs’ stunning form, Murray saw little game time. Murray was injured during the whole of the 2009 Super 14, and slowly began to be exposed to rugby during the Currie Cup, after a seven month absence.

On 7 June 2010, the Sharks agreed to release him from his contract so he could join the Lions.

At the end of 2012, his Lions contract expired and he joined the Eastern Province Kings.

Career:

• 2004 – Kwazulu Natal (Under 18 Coca-Cola Craven Week)
• 2005 – Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Qualifying Round), Natal (SA Under 19), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2006 – Sharks (Super Rugby), Wildebeest (Vodacom Cup), South Africa (IRB Under 21 World Championship), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2007 – Springboks (World Cup warm-up matches), Sharks (Super 14), Wildebeest (Vodacom Cup), Springboks (Vodacom Incoming Tours & Tri-Nations), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2008 – Sharks (Super 14), Sharks (ABSa Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2009 – Sharks XV (Vodacom Cup), Sharks (Super 14), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2010 – Sharks (Super 14), Sharks XV (Vodacom Cup), Lions (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Xerox Lions (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2011 – MTN Lions (Super Rugby), MTN Golden Lions (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2012 – MTN Lions (Super Rugby), MTN Golden Lions (Vodacom Cup), MTN Golden Lions (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)

Name: Andries Jacobus (Andries) Strauss:

Position Centre Height 1.86 Weight 97 Date of Birth 5 March 1984 Place of Birth Pretoria Provincial Debut 2004 for the Free State Cheetahs Provincial Caps 56 Provincial Points 51 Super Rugby Debut 2006 for the Sharks Super Rugby Caps 33 Super Rugby Points 20 Test Debut Toured with the Springboks in 2010 Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

In August 2010, Strauss signed a deal wth the Cheetahs for the 2011 Super Rugby season, due to the departure of Cheetahs centre Meyer Bosman who then joined the Sharks. In 2011, Strauss played with his brother, Richart Strauss and cousin Adriaan Strauss for the Bloemfontein side.

In November 2010, after an injury to stand in fullback and centre Zane Kirchner, Andries received a call up to play for the Springboks to face a star studded Barbarians side at Twickenham.

Career:

• 2003 – Free State (ABSA Under 20 A Section)
• 2004 – Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division), South Africa (IRB Under 21 World Championships), Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Under 20 Competition A Section)
• 2005 – Vodacom Free State Cheetahs (Vodacom Cup), Free State (ABSA Under 21 Competition), Vodacom Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2006 – Sharks (Super 14), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2007 – Sharks (Super Rugby), Wildebeest (Vodacom Cup), South Africa (IRB Sevens Series London & Scotland)Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division), Sharks XV (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies)
• 2008 – Sharks (Super 14), Wildebeest (Vodacom Cup), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2009 – Sharks (MTN test), Sharks XV (Vodacom Cup), Sharks (Super 14), Sharks (British & Irish Lions Tour), Sharks Invitational XV (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Sharks (ABSa Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2010 – Sharks (Super 14), Sharks XV (Vodacom Cup), Sharks Invitational XV (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Sharks (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division), Springboks (Outgoing Tours)
• 2011 – Toyota Cheetahs (Super Rugby), Toyota Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2012 – Toyota Cheetahs (Super Rugby), Toyota Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division), Toyota Free State Cheetahs (ABSA Currie Cup Promotion / Relegation)

Name: Ronnie Cooke:

Position Centre Height 1.83 Weight 90 Date of Birth 5 April 1984 Place of Birth Pretoria Provincial Debut 2004 for the Leopards Provincial Caps 24 Plus 121 for Brieve, 6 for Grenoble Provincial Points 50 Super Rugby Debut 2006 for the Cheetahs Super Rugby Caps 24 Super Rugby Points 25 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He started his career at the Leopards, playing youth rugby for them until making his full debut in 2004. During this time, he was also a member of the S.A. Under-21 team that won the 2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship.

He played for the Leopards until the end of 2005, when he joined the Cheetahs Super Rugby team, making several appearances in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Domestically, he played for Griquas in the Currie Cup.

In October 2007, he joined French Top 14 team Brive. He became a regular in the team, making 121 appearances for them between 2007 and 2012 in the Top 14, Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup competitions. He was also named their player of the year in 2008.

After his contract with Brive expired, he joined fellow Top 14 team Grenoble at the start of the 2012–13 Top 14 season as a medical joker, replacing the injured Aaron Bancroft.

Career:

• 2003 – Leopards (ABSA Under 20 A Section)
• 2004 – Leopards (Vodacom Cup)Leopards (ABSA Currie Cup First Division), Leopards (ABSA Under 20 Competition Section A)
• 2005 – South Africa (IRB Under 21 World Championship), Impala Leopards (Vodacom Cup), Leopards (ABSA Currie Cup Qualifying Rounds), Impala Leopards (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2006 – Vodacom Cheetahs (Super 14), Wildeklawer Griquas (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division)
• 2007 – 2012 – Vodacom Cheetahs (Super Rugby), Wildeklawer Griquas (Vodacom Cup), Wildeklawer Griquas (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division), Brieve (Top 14, Heineken Cup, Challenge Cup)
• 2012 – Grenoble (Top 14)

Name: Siyanda Grey:

Position Centre Height 1.76 Weight 87 Date of Birth 16 August 1989 Place of Birth Komga Provincial Debut 2011 for Eastern Province Kings Provincial Caps 20 Provincial Points 50 Super Rugby Debut Super Rugby Caps 0 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He was included in the Eastern Province Kings squad for the 2010 Vodacom Cup and have represented the team in the Under 21 Currie Cup competition.

He has also represented an Emerging Boks sevens team in the Safaricom Sevens tournament in Kenya.

After scoring five tries in eight appearances in the 2011 Vodacom Cup, he was included in the South African Kings team that played in the 2011 IRB Nations Cup. He was the leading try-scorer in the tournament, scoring six tries in three appearances, including a hat-trick against Georgia.

He scored a further two tries in three games in the 2011 Currie Cup First Division, before missing the remainder of the 2011 and the majority of the 2012 season through injury.

Career:

• 2009 – Eastern Province (ABSA Under 21 Competition)
• 2010 – Eastern province (Vodacom Cup), Eastern Province (ABSA Under 21 Competition)
• 2011 – Eastern Province Kings (Vodacom Cup), South African Kings (IRB Nations Cup), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup First Division)
• 2012 – Eastern Province Kings (Vodacom Cup), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup First Division)

Name: Ivan Wayne (Wayne) Stevens:

Position Centre Height 1.85 Weight 86 Date of Birth 17 May 1988 Place of Birth Bloemfontein Provincial Debut 2010 for Eastern Province Kings Provincial Caps 34 Provincial Points 45 Super Rugby Debut Super Rugby Caps 0 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He started his career playing for the Free State Cheetahs in various youth competitions, such as the Grant Khomo Week. He made his full debut for the team in the 2009 Vodacom Cup and also represented the Shimlas in the Varsity Cup competition. In 2010, he joined the Eastern Province Kings in time for the 2010 Currie Cup First Division season.

He was named captain of a South African Barbarians (South) team to face England during the 2012 mid-year rugby test series.

Career:

• 2004 – Free State (Under 16 Grant Khomo Week)
• 2005 – Free State (Under 18 Coca-Cola Craven Week)
• 2007 – Free State (ABSA Under 19 Competition), Free State (ABSA Under 21 Competition)
• 2008 – Shimlas (FNB Varsity Cup), SA Students (SA Students), Free State (ABSA Under 21 Competition)
• 2009 – Free State (Vodacom Cup), Free State (ABSA Under 21 Competition)
• 2010 – Shimlas (FNB Varsity Cup), Free State (Vodacom Cup), Mighty Elephants (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup First Division), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup Promotion / Relegation)
• 2011 – Eastern Province Kings (Vodacom Cup), South African Kings (IRB Nations Cup), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup Compulsary Friendlies), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup First Division)
• 2012 – Eastern Province Kings (Vodacom Cup), SA Barbarians South (Castle incoming Tours vs England), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup First Division), Eastern Province Kings (ABSA Currie Cup Promotion / Relegation)

Starters:

Hadleigh Parkes, Waylon Murray and Andries Strauss are the favourites to occupy the centre berths, but Ronnie Cooke might also get a look in in 2013.

The next Article in the range will deal with the Southern Kings Back Three, which will include the Back Three (Wings and Fullbacks).