Sergio Lorenzo Torrens (born 29 January 1990) 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 it ...

player who last 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. He is a utility back that can play as a winger,

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

or fullback.

Rugby career

Youth and amateur rugby

Torrens was born in Bellville South in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was selected to represent 's Under-18 at the 2008 Academy Week tournament and also made six starts on the left wing for their Under-19 team in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring a try in their victory over the s. He dropped out of provincial rugby for a number of years, but appeared in nationwide amateur competitions on two occasions – in 2011, Torrens was a member of the squad that participated in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

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 ...

competition, while in

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 fa ...

, he played for

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 ...

-based College Rovers in the SARU Community Cup. He started in each of his team's matches in the latter competition, scoring tries against Despatch, Sishen (two tries) and Walmers in

Pool A Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

of the initial round of the competition to help his side qualify for the finals tournament, and he also scored against Durbanville-Bellville in the quarter-finals, Brakpan in the semi-finals and Despatch in the final, falling just short by losing 24–26 to the team from the Eastern Cape. During his time in Durban, he also played rugby sevens, representing the and also being included in an Emerging Boks side.

Leopards

Torrens followed College Rovers head coach Robert du Preez to Potchefstroom when the latter was appointed as the coach of the . He made his first class debut for the in their 2014 Vodacom Cup match against the in a 16–18 defeat, the first of seven consecutive starts in the competition that saw the Leopards XV finish in fifth position on the Northern Section log. His

debut followed a couple of months later as the Leopards attempted to qualify for the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

through a qualification series; he came on as a replacement in their 51–23 victory over the before starting at outside centre in their 45–22 victory over the a week later. He made four more appearances off the bench for the remainder of the qualifying series, as the Leopards fell just short, losing out on a spot in the Premier Division by a single point to . Instead, the team played in the First Division, with Torrens featuring in their final three matches of the regular season, scoring his first senior try in a 50–29 victory over the . The Leopards finished top of the log to qualify for a home semi-final against the same opposition, but the team from Kempton Park sprung a surprise by winning the match 31–24, with Torrens coming on for the final twenty minutes of the match. Torrens made six starts for the Leopards XV during the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Afric ...

, scoring tries against the , and a brace against in a 22–47 defeat, with his four tries being the second-most by a Leopards player. He took his try-scoring form into the Currie Cup qualification series, scoring in their 45–17 victory in their opening match. That turned out to be his final match for the Leopards as injury ruled him out for the remainder of the season. The Leopards once again lost out on qualification for the Premier Division by a single point to , but dominated the First Division, winning all of their matches, including the final, where they beat the SWD Eagles 44–20.

Boland Cavaliers

After the 2015 season, Torrens moved back to his native

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 ...

to join

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 metr ...

-based side . He made the right-wing position his own, starting thirteen of Boland's fourteen matches in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series in that position. He scored seven tries in the competition – two against former side the , two against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n side the in a 110–10 victory, two in his very next match against the in

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

and one try against a in their final match of the competition The Cavaliers finished the qualifying competition in third position, clinching a spot in the Premier Division for the first time since 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens, Sergio South African rugby union players Living people 1990 births Rugby union players from Cape Town Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Boland Cavaliers players Leopards (rugby union) players