Michael John Horak (born 3 June 1977) is a South African former

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 ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, and rugby union coach. He represented

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 ...

in rugby league, and played one game for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in rugby union. He last played at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

Background

Michael Horak was born 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.

Career

Playing career

After playing for the Free State Schools

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 ...

side in 1995 and the Free State U21s in 1996 he moved to Australia to play

, and played for the

Perth Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition i ...

. He has also played for

, including at the 1997

Super League World Nines The Super League World Nines (known as the ''Gatorade Super League World Nines'' due to sponsorship), was a pre-season rugby league nines tournament between national sides. Set up in the midst of the Super League war and created in opposition to t ...

. Horak was signed by

Bob Dwyer Bob Dwyer AM (born 29 November 1940) is an Australian rugby union coach. Early life Educated at Sydney Boys High School, graduating in 1957, where he played 2nd XV for the school where he played alongside former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs a ...

for 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 1997 and became Leicester's first-choice full back, replacing the retiring John Liley and ahead of Fijian international

Waisale Serevi Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968) is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long car ...

. He also played for the England U21 side. However, he dropped to third choice after Tiger's signing of

Tim Stimpson Timothy Richard George Stimpson (born 10 September 1973 in Liverpool) is a former rugby union international full back (and occasional wing). During his career he played for Wakefield, West Hartlepool, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Perp ...

and

Geordan Murphy Geordan Edward Andrew Murphy (born 19 April 1978) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He played as Fullback (rugby union), fullback or Wing (rugby union), wing both for the Ireland national rugby union team, Irish international team ...

. Horak subsequently followed Dwyer to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

before signing for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

in 1999. He left Irish in 2000 but re-signed in 2001. He started in the 2002 Powergen Cup Final at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, scoring a try as London Irish defeated the

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. His solitary

cap came during the tour of Argentina, on 22 June 2002 at the

Estadio José Amalfitani A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

. He qualifies for

via his English mother. After spending two seasons with Benetton Treviso, Horak signed with

for the 2009–10 season but announced his retirement with immediate effect in January 2010. He is a tall player with a big left boot.

Coaching career

In 2010, head coach

Naka Drotské Allen Erasmus 'Naka' Drotské (born 15 March 1971) is a former South African rugby union player, who played for the Springboks between 1993 and 1999. Playing career Provincial Drotské played as a flank for the Schools team at the 1989 Craven ...

appointed Horak as the defence coach and head of the Cheetahs academy prior to the

2010 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2010 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division was the 72nd season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 9 July through to 30 October. It was won by the , who defeated 30–10 in the final at . Patrick Lambi ...

competition. He became the general manager of the team in 2011 and also helped out as defensive coach at the in 2011. At the end of 2012, he relinquished his role as general manager at the to take over as director of rugby as well as head coach at

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 ...

side prior to the

2013 Varsity Cup The 2013 Varsity Cup was contested from 4 February to 8 April 2013. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univer ...

competition, but still continued as Cheetahs defensive coach. At the start of 2014, it was announced that he signed a five-year contract to join the as defensive coach, following the completion of Shimlas'

2014 Varsity Cup The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

campaign. However, he spent just one season in

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 ...

before joining the for the 2015 season.

References

External links

Saracens profileLondon Irish profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horak, Michael 1977 births Living people Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Bristol Bears players Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Leicester Tigers players London Irish players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Gauteng Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Johannesburg Saracens F.C. players South Africa national rugby league team players South African expatriate rugby league players South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in Australia South African expatriate sportspeople in England South African expatriate sportspeople in Italy South African people of English descent South African rugby league players South African rugby union coaches South African rugby union players