Jarryd Christopher Sage (born ) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

-qualified South African

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, currently playing with Welsh

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

side the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. His regular position is centre. Sage qualifies for Wales through his father, who was born in Newbridge within the Dragons' region.

Rugby career

Youth Rugby / Western Province

Sage was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, where he attended

Wynberg Boys' High School Wynberg Boys' High School is a public English medium boys high school situated in the suburb of Wynberg of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Founded in 1841, it is one of the best academic schools in Cape Town, it is the ...

. He earned provincial colours at school level, representing Western Province at the Under-18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

competition in 2013. He represented the team in the Under-19 Provincial Championship in the same year, as returned in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

as a member of the Western Province Rugby Institute. He was included in the squad for the

2015 Varsity Cup The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, and the Western Province squad for the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

, but didn't feature in either competition. In the latter half of the year, he played for the team in the Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try for the team in their match against en route to finishing top of the log, and eventually winning the title, beating 52–17 in the final.

Golden Lions

For the 2016 season, Sage moved to

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 ...

to join the . He scored three tries in thirteen appearances for the in the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the f ...

series, and a further two tries for the team in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship in the second half of the season, including the decisive try in the final to help his side to a 38–34 victory over former side Western Province. He made nine appearances for the in the

2017 Rugby Challenge The 2017 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – is the first edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa, and the long-term successor of the V ...

, helping his side to the semi-finals of the competition. He was included in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

squad for the 2017 season and made his debut in that competition in their 36–43 defeat to the , making three starts in total.

Southern Kings / Eastern Province Kings

In August 2017, Sage moved to

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

to join a team about to embark on their first

campaign. He did not feature during the start of their season – instead making three appearances for the in the 2017 Currie Cup First Division – but made his debut in their eighth match of the season, a 36–43 defeat to Irish side

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

KwaZakele iBhayi is a large township near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is the largest township in the Eastern Cape province and the ninth largest in South Africa after Mitchells Plain near Cape Town in the Western Cape. Etymology ''iBhayi'' (sometime ...

, his only appearance for the team.

Dragons

In November 2017, Welsh side

announced that Sage would make the move to Newport to join the team.

External links

Dragons profile

Personal life

Sage is the grandson of Doug Hopwood, a rugby player that represented the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerse ...

in 22 test matches between 1961 and 1965. His older brother Dylan is also a professional rugby union player, representing the South Africa Sevens team since 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sage, Jarryd South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births Rugby union players from Cape Town Rugby union centres Eastern Province Elephants players Golden Lions players Southern Kings players Dragons RFC players