| Full name | Kyle Gie Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 February 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | South African College Schools, Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kyle Gie Brown (born 6 February 1987) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the South African Sevens team. [1] He was the captain of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
He played some youth rugby for Wellington-based side Boland Cavaliers at Under-19 level in 2006 and at Under-21 level in 2007. In 2008, he returned to Cape Town to play in the inaugural Varsity Cup competition, making seven appearances as his side the UCT Ikey Tigers reached the final of the competition, where they were beaten 16–10 by fellow Western Cape university Maties. [2] He was also included in the Western Province U21 side that played in the 2008 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
At the end of 2008, Brown was included in the South African Sevens squad for the 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series. He made his debut at the 2008 Dubai Sevens and played every leg of the series, as South Africa won the series for the first time at their tenth attempt. He also played in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens competition, helping South Africa to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Argentina. He also won a bronze medal with the side at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan).
He became a key member of the sevens side over the next few years, appearing in the majority of tournaments in IRB Sevens World Series, although he did miss most of the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series through injury. He returned in time for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, but the Blitzbokke once again lost in the quarter-finals of the competition, this time to Fiji. However, they made some amends by winning gold medals at 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia shortly afterwards.
He played in seven further legs of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series and then captained the squad that played at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, helping his side all the way to the final, where they got a 17–12 victory over a New Zealand that won the previous four tournaments. [3]
Kyle Brown was named captain of a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. [4] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Group B of the competition against Spain, with South Africa winning the match 24–0. [5] [6] He started their second match against France, scoring one of South Africa's four tries in a 26–0 victory, [7] [8] and dropped to the bench for their final match against Australia. Despite a 5–12 defeat in this match, [9] [10] South Africa still finished top of Pool B to set up a quarter final rematch against Australia. Brown was restored to the starting line-up for this match and scored one of South Africa's tries in a 22–5 victory. [11] [12] He started South Africa's semi-final match against Great Britain and scored South Africa's only points of a 5–7 defeat, which saw his side eliminated from gold medal contention. [13] [14] He also started their third-place play-off, helping his side to a 54–14 victory over Japan [15] [16] to secure a bronze medal in the Olympic Games.
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport outside of the Summer Olympics.
Juan Leon de Jongh is a South African former professional rugby union footballer. He was one of the stars of Vodacom WP's ABSA Currie Cup campaign in 2009 and he made his debut against the Sharks. He became the first choice inside centre for the Stormers in the 2010 Super 14 season after the departure of stalwart and captain, Jean de Villiers. He won his first international cap against Wales on 5 June 2010, during this game he also scored his first international try with a scything break through the Welsh midfield, similar to that of his previous try against the Waratahs in the Super 14 semi-final.
Cecil Sebastian Afrika is a South African rugby sevens player for the South Africa national team, where he plays at flyhalf. He also plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR).
Rugby sevens was played at the Olympics for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics, with both men's and women's contests. It was added to the Olympics following the decision of the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009. The champions for the inaugural rugby sevens tournament in 2016 were Fiji for the men and Australia for the women. Prior to 2016, 15-a-side matches were played in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924.
Philippus Albertus Borman Snyman is a South African former rugby union player and is currently a coach in Germany. As a player, he was the captain of South Africa's National Rugby 7s Team, Blitzbokke. He also played as a centre or winger for the Cheetahs in both Super Rugby and the Currie Cup.
Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games.
Rosko Shane Specman is a South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge. He played rugby sevens for the South Africa national rugby sevens team between 2014 and 2018 and also played Currie Cup rugby with the Sharks from 2010 to 2012, the Pumas from 2013 to 2015 and the Free State Cheetahs in 2017. His usual position is winger.
Timothy Ernest Victor Kwizera Agaba is a Ugandan-born South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is flanker or number eight.
Cheslin Kolbe is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays at fullback. He has also recently featured at fly half for Toulouse in the Top 14, and as a scrum half internationally. Kolbe was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He has won the Rugby World Cup twice with South Africa, in 2019 and 2023. Kolbe was nominated for 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year but lost to teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit. He previously played for Toulouse, Toulon, Stormers, and Western Province. He has also won the Rugby Championship and the Lions Series with the Springboks, the Top14 and Champions Cup with Toulouse, the Currie Cup with Western Province, and the Challenge Cup with Toulon. He is one of the highest paid rugby players in the world, with a reported salary of between ¥130–155 million yen per season.
Justin Gilberto Geduld is a South African rugby union player, currently contracted to SARU as a sevens rugby player, as well as playing domestic rugby union for Western Province. His regular position is centre.
Seabelo Mohanoe Senatla is a South African rugby union player for the South African Sevens Side. He also plays for Stormers in URC and Western Province in the Currie Cup. His regular position is winger.
Albertus Stephanus 'Kwagga' Smith is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the Shizuoka Blue Revs in Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is flanker.
Francis Henry Horne is a South African rugby union player who played for the South African Sevens team from 2007 until 2016. He also played 15-man rugby for Wellington in club rugby and for the Boland Cavaliers at provincial level. He mainly played as a flanker, but also played as a hooker or a centre on occasion.
South Africa competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Games in the post-apartheid era, and nineteenth overall in Summer Olympic history. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) sent the nation's largest ever delegation to the Olympics, with a total of 138 athletes, 93 men and 45 women, competing across 15 sports.
Christopher Adriaan Dry is a South African professional rugby union player, currently playing with the South African Sevens team in the Sevens World Series. His regular position is a flanker.
Werner Kok is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the South African Sevens team. His regular position is centre or winger.
The men's rugby sevens tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held in Brazil. It was hosted at the Deodoro Stadium, a temporary outdoor stadium constructed as part of the Deodoro Modern Pentathlon Park in Rio de Janeiro. The tournament was held from 9 August to 11 August 2016, starting with group matches before finishing with the medal ceremony on 11 August. The 2016 Games marked the first time that rugby sevens has been played at the Olympics, and the first time since 1924 that any form of rugby had been played at the Olympics.
Dylan Michael Sage is a South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge.
