Ryan Desmond Nell (born 4 September 1990 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 ...

) 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 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

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. He is a utility back that can play as a centre, winger or full-back.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

He represented the and teams between 2009 and 2011 and also played for university side in the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

competitions.

Western Province

His first class debut came during the

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...

, when he came on as a substitute for against the at .

Blue Bulls

He joined the for the 2014 season.

Boland Cavaliers

He joined

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

-based side on trial prior to the 2016 season.

Rugby ATL

Nell joined

side

for the

2020 Major League Rugby season The 2020 Major League Rugby season was the third season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season schedule was released on September 23, 2019, and the regular season itself began ...

Sevens rugby

In 2012, he was included in the S.A. Sevens side and played in two tournaments in the

2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series The 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC Sevens World Series, was the 13th annual series of the IRB Sevens World Series tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999– ...

, the

2012 Scotland Sevens The 2012 Scotland Sevens was the sixth edition of the tournament previously known as the Edinburgh Sevens. It was the eighth tournament within the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Scotstoun Stadium. New Zealand won t ...

and the

2012 London Sevens The 2012 London Sevens was the sixth edition of the tournament and the ninth tournament of the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Twickenham Stadium. Fiji won the title by defeating Samoa 38–15 in the final. Format ...

References

South African rugby union players Living people 1990 births Rugby union players from Port Elizabeth Western Province (rugby union) players South Africa international rugby sevens players Blue Bulls players Boland Cavaliers players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Rugby ATL players {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub