Renier Botha (born 28 September 1992) is a South African 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 who last played for 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 ...

and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is scrum-half.

Career

Youth and Varsity rugby

After playing high school rugby with

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

-based Diamantveld High School, Botha was included in the squad for the 2010 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 ...

tournament in

Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The cit ...

. He also made one appearance for the side in the Under-19 provincial championships. Botha went to the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

, playing club rugby for them and making their

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 ...

squad for the 2013 Varsity Cup. He made four starts for the side, scoring one try against the . Towards the end of the season, Botha also made three appearances for former side in the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

competition, playing as a centre. Botha didn't make the squad for the

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 ...

, instead playing

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

rugby for the .

Free State Cheetahs

Botha made his first class debut during the

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 ...

competition, eventually playing in all eight matches of the 's season. He started their opening match of the season against the and scored his first points in senior rugby when he got a try shortly before half-time in their match against the , one of three tries he scored during the campaign. With no

experience, Botha was a surprise inclusion on the bench for the ' match against the during the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. He got the opportunity due to an injury to first choice scrum-half

Sarel Pretorius Sarel Johannes Pretorius (born 18 April 1984) is a South African rugby player who plays at scrum half for the in the Pro14. During 2007–2011 he played in the Currie Cup for Griquas and made his Super Rugby debut for the in 2009 against th ...

and with scrum-half

Tian Meyer Tian Carel Meyer (born 20 September 1988) is a South African rugby union player for the in the Pro14 and the in the Currie Cup. He plays mostly as a scrum-half and occasionally as a Wing. He previously played for the , and domestically and ...

being involved in the 2014 Vodacom Cup final.

Griquas

Botha moved to

during 2016 to join .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Renier 1992 births Living people Cheetahs (rugby union) players Free State Cheetahs players Rugby union players from Bloemfontein South African rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves