Donovan Wade Armand (born 23 September 1988) is a former Zimbabwean-born England international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
footballer. Originally from Zimbabwe, he played as a
flanker
Flanker may refer to:
* Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one
* Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league)
* ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...
for
Exeter Chiefs in the
English Premiership.
Professional career
Zimbabwe
Armand grew up in Zimbabwe and attended Highlands Junior School in Harare.
South Africa
After the Zimbabwean land-reform, Armand moved to South Africa and attended
Maritzburg College. He made his debut with the South African team
Western Province on 10 March 2012 in a 51–22 victory over the
Boland Cavaliers.
He finished the 2012 Vodacom Cup season with six appearances and one try.
Due to injuries sustained by loose-forwards
Duane Vermeulen
Daniel Johannes "Duane" Vermeulen (born 3 July 1986) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team and Ulster Rugby in the United Rugby Champion ...
and
Nick Köster
Ralph Nicholas Köster (22 February 1989 – 12 July 2023) was a South African rugby union player. He last played professionally for Bristol in the position of Flanker or Eight Man. He was latterly captain of Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
Kö ...
on the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...
' 2012 Australasian tour, Armand received a call-up to the squad for the final tour game against the
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...
. The match ended in a 17–3 Stormers victory. He made his Super Rugby debut as a 75th-minute replacement for
Nizaam Carr
Nizaam Carr (born 4 April 1991) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays either as a flanker, loose forward or number 8 and back rower. He is renowned for his athleticism and linking play.
Personal life
Carr grew up in Mitchell's ...
.
Armand was a fixture in the 2012 Western Province Currie Cup side and started the winning final against the in Durban.
He has also represented the
Ikey Tigers
The Ikey Tigers are a South African rugby union team from the University of Cape Town in the Western Cape who compete in the FNB Varsity Cup.
History
The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an anti-semitic epithet applied to UCT studen ...
in the
Varsity Cup
Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...
.
Exeter Chiefs
On 17 July 2013, it was confirmed that Armand would be joining English
Aviva Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
side
Exeter Chiefs on a two-year contract.
Armand has been a key player in Exeter Chiefs successful 2017 Aviva season becoming Champions of England on 27 May 2017. He was named man of the match in the final, where the Chiefs recorded their first ever league win with a 23-20 extra-time victory over Wasps.
Armand made his
Exeter Chiefs debut against the
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
in the
Aviva Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
in September 2013. He appeared 11 times in the 2013–14 season, mostly as a substitute. In 2014–15, Armand appeared 12 times, starting in 10 of those appearances. Armand had a breakout season in 2015–16, appearing 21 times in the
Aviva Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
, starting each match and playing a total of 1,611 minutes. Armand also appeared in the Chiefs'
European Champions Cup campaign and started the
2016 Aviva Premiership final. Armand was nominated for the Aviva Premiership player of the year award, which was won by
Alex Goode
Alexander David Goode (born 7 May 1988) is an English professional rugby union player playing for Saracens in Premiership Rugby.
Biography
All-rounder Goode appeared at the national schools athletics finals, played county tennis and was part ...
. Armand won the Exeter Chiefs Supporters' player of the year award for 2016 and also earned an
England Saxons
England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...
call up for their summer tour of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. He started the final and was voted man of the match as Exeter Chiefs defeated
Wasps
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...
to be crowned champions of the
2016-17 English Premiership. He announced his retirement following the
2021–22 season.
International career
In 2016, Armand was selected for the
England Saxons
England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...
' tour of South Africa.
In 2017 Armand was named as a late addition to England's tour of Argentina following James Haskell's Lions call up.
Armand won his first international cap for England on 10 June 2017 in their 34-38 victory over
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, coming on as a substitute in the second half. Armand's second cap and
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
debut came as a late sub in England's defeat to Ireland in the 2018 tournament.
References
External links
*
itsrugby.co.uk Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armand, Don
Living people
1988 births
White Zimbabwean people
Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa
South African rugby union players
Stormers players
Western Province (rugby union) players
Rugby union flankers
Sportspeople from Harare
Alumni of Maritzburg College
England international rugby union players
Exeter Chiefs players