Rowan Petrus Christiaan Gouws (born ) 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 who currently plays for

Rugby ATL Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR) in the United States. His regular position is scrum-half. He previously played for the 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 the Rugby Challenge.

Rugby career

Schoolboy rugby

Gouws was born in

Richards Bay Richards Bay ( af, Richardsbaai) is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on a 30 square kilometre lagoon of the Mhlatuze River, which makes it one of the country's largest harbours. Richards Bay also has the deepest natural ha ...

, but grew up in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

, where he attended Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg. He represented the local rugby union, the at the Under-13 Craven Week in 2008, the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011 and 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 ...

held in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

in 2013.

Sharks

After school, he moved to

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 ...

to join the academy. He played for their Under-19 team in the

2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2014 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Grou ...

and for their Under-21 team in the Under-21 Provincial Championships in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. He also played in the 2015 Varsity Shield competition with the . He made his first class debut 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, coming on as a replacement in the 's 32–37 defeat to the in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. He made a further five starts and two appearances as a replacement for the Sharks XV 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 ...

competition.

Eastern Province Kings / Southern Kings

In the second half of 2017, Gouws 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 continue his rugby career. After a single match for the in the 2017 Currie Cup First Division against the 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 appeared for the in their inaugural season in the

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 ...

competition. He made his debut in the competition as a replacement against the in Newport. After a further three appearances as a replacement, he made his first start in their match against the in Port Elizabeth, eventually playing in eleven matches for a Southern Kings side that finished bottom of Conference B with just a single victory all season. Gouws also played for the – the new name for the Eastern Province Kings – in the

2018 Rugby Challenge The 2018 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the second edition of the Rugby Challenge (South Africa), Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gouws, Rowan South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births People from uMhlathuze Local Municipality Rugby union scrum-halves Eastern Province Elephants players Southern Kings players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Otago rugby union players Rugby Football Club Los Angeles players Rugby union players from Mpumalanga