Louis Jacques Botes (born 28 November 1980 in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
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 ...
) is a former professional
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 ...
player. He played domestic rugby for the between 2002 and 2004 and for the between 2005 and 2014 and also played
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
for the between 2005 and 2014. He usually 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 ...
or a
number eight.
In 2014, he broke
Helgard Müller's
Currie Cup appearance record, eventually going on to play in 156 Currie Cup matches. In addition, he played in 115
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
matches for the , made one appearance for the
Emerging Springboks during the
2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009.
The British & Irish Lions played a three-match Test series against South Africa, with matches in ...
and played in a further 21 first-class games, mainly in the
Vodacom Cup and
Vodacom Shield competitions.
Career
Pumas
After a spell in
Pretoria where Botes played for the side in 2001,
as well as club rugby for the
University of Pretoria second team the Fezelas
and their main side in 2002,
Botes moved to
Witbank to join the for the
2002 Currie Cup
The 2002 Currie Cup was the 2002 season of the South African domestic rugby union competition, the Absa Currie Cup premier division, played from 19 July 2002 – 26 October 2002. The finals were played at Ellis Park Stadium where the Blue Bull ...
competition.
He became a regular for the Pumas, making 42 appearances for them in the
2003 Vodacom Shield,
2003 Currie Cup
The 2003 Currie Cup was the 2003 season of the South African domestic rugby union competition, the Absa Currie Cup premier division, played from 26 July 2003 – 1 November 2003. The 2003 Currie Cup saw the implementation of a new format for th ...
,
2004 Vodacom Shield and
2004 Currie Cup
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
competitions.
Sharks
Botes made the move to
Durban to join the prior to the
2005 Super 12 season
The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, ...
.
He made his
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
debut in the opening match of the competition, a 26–12 defeat to the in
Cape Town,
the first of many as he established himself as a regular for the Sharks over the next decade at both Super Rugby and
Currie Cup level.
During the
2013 Currie Cup Premier Division
The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...
, he broke the record for the most number of
Currie Cup appearances when he played in his 143rd match against .
The following season, he became the first ever player to appear in 150 matches in the Currie Cup, when he was named in the starting lineup for their Round Four match against former side the .
He increased this record to 156 before his retirement at the end of the 2014 season.
Barbarians
His final ever appearances was for the
Barbarians 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 ...
on 4 November 2014 in a match celebrating Barbarians' 125th anniversary. He scored the final try in a 59–26 victory and also slotted the resultant conversion.
External links
Sharks profile*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botes, Jacques
1980 births
Living people
Rugby union players from Johannesburg
South African rugby union players
Sharks (rugby union) players
Sharks (Currie Cup) players
Pumas (Currie Cup) players
Rugby union flankers
Afrikaner people
University of Pretoria alumni
Alumni of Maritzburg College