Morné James Hugo (born 11 October 1991 in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

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 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. His regular position is fly-half.

Career

Youth and Varsity Shield

Hugo went to

Worcester Gymnasium Worcester Gymnasium is a high school established in 1992 in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa. It was created through the amalgamation of two previous schools, Worcester High School and the Worcester East Commercial High School. In the previ ...

, where he played rugby for their first XV and earned a selection to the Boland Under-18 team that played at the 2009

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 2010, he represented the side in the 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting three of their matches. In 2012, he was named in the side that played in the 2012 Varsity Cup competition. However, Hugo failed to make any appearances as the side ended the competition as losing finalists. He then moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

for the latter half of 2012. He was named on the bench for one of the s' matches – against

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

rivals – but failed to make an appearance on the playing field. He enrolled at the

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and ...

and became their first-choice fly-half for their

Varsity Shield 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 ...

campaigns in both

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

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 ...

. He finished the 2013 season as ' top scorer - and joint second overall in the competition – with 68 points from his eight starts as his side disappointingly finished bottom of the log. His record in 2014 was remarkably similar, this time getting 70 points in his eight starts, but again not enough to lift TUT off the foot of the Varsity Shield log.

Eastern Province Kings

At the conclusion of the

2014 Varsity Shield The 2014 Varsity Shield was contested from 27 January to 31 March 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual ...

, Hugo made the move 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 the for their

2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Cu ...

campaign. He made his first class debut against , coming on as a second-half replacement to help his side to a 28–21 victory against the team he represented as a youth. He made another appearance in their next match two weeks later as the Kings secured a victory over the previously-unbeaten , prevailing 27–11 in a match in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. However, they finished the season in fifth spot and missed out on a Quarter Final spot.

Boland Cavaliers

He returned to the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

later in 2014, joining prior to the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series. He was selected to make his first senior start in their match against the in Kempton Park, also making his debut 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 ...

competition and scoring his first points – three conversions, two penalties and a drop goal for a personal haul of 15 points to help Boland to a 35–20 victory. He also started their next match against the as his side finished in fifth place in the qualifying competition and therefore being involved in the

2014 Currie Cup First Division The 2014 Currie Cup First Division was contested between 29 August and 17 October 2014. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union ...

. Hugo made three starts and played off the bench on two occasions, scoring fifteen points as Boland missed out on the semi-finals, finishing the season in fifth position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo, Morne South African rugby union players Living people 1991 births People from Oudtshoorn Rugby union fly-halves Boland Cavaliers players Eastern Province Elephants players Tshwane University of Technology alumni Rugby union players from the Western Cape