Shane Edward Gates (born 27 September 1992) is a South African-born Japanese 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, currently playing in the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

with

NTT Communications Shining Arcs Urayasu D-Rocks, commonly known as the D-Rocks, or the Shining Arcs, is a rugby union team owned by NTT Communications and is part of Japan's Rugby League One competition, currently in Division 2. Given the name, the team is based in Urayasu Ci ...

. His usual position is

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

inside centre In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Career

Youth

Gates was born in Port Elizabeth and played for the in several underage competitions. He represented them at 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 ...

competition in 2010 and also played for the side in the 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He represented the 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 ...

competitions, helping them reach the Division B final on all three occasions and winning the title in 2012 and 2013.

Eastern Province Kings / Southern Kings

In 2011, Gates was included in the

2011 Vodacom Cup The 2011 Vodacom Cup was contested from 25 February to 13 May 2011. The tournament was the 14th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South A ...

squad, but failed to make an appearance for the team, despite being named on the bench for their match against the in

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 ...

. His senior debut came during the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, ...

competition against

Argentinean Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish language, Spanish (Grammatical gender, masculine) or (Grammatical gender, feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be resident ...

invitational side in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

; he started the match and also marked the occasion by scoring his first try, dotting down shortly before half-time. He made a further three starts and one substitute's appearance during the competition. Gates made his

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 ...

debut at the end of 2012, when he started their match against the in the promotion/relegation play-offs. Despite scoring a try, he could not help the Kings crashing to a 53–14 defeat and ultimately failing to win promotion. Gates was named in the wider training squad for the

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumb ...

, but was subsequently released to the Vodacom Cup squad. However, he was later called back into the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

squad and made his debut in that competition against the in a 34–27 victory 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 ...

. He made four appearances from the bench before starting his first Super Rugby match, the final regular season match against the 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 ...

. He also played in both legs of the Kings' promotion/relegation matches against the , which saw the fall out of Super Rugby for 2014. With the Kings not playing

in 2014, Gates – along with lock Rynier Bernardo – joined the for pre-season training prior to 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 ...

. However, he was not included in their final squad and returned to the Kings. He wasn't involved in 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, instead training with the Kings'

group prior to 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 ...

season. In June 2014, he was selected in the starting line-up for the side to face during a tour match during a 2014 incoming tour. He played the first 72 minutes of the match as the Kings suffered a 12–34 defeat. In May 2015, Gates captained the side for the first time in a friendly encounter against the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

. With the Kings returning to Super Rugby in 2016 season, Gates was named vice-captain for the season. He captained the Kings for first time against the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

in May following an injury to regular captain Steven Sykes.

NTT Shining Arcs

In June 2016, it was announced that Gates would join

ese

side

on a two-year deal following the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

Representative rugby

In 2011, Gates was included in a South African Kings squad that participated in the

2011 IRB Nations Cup The 2011 IRB Nations Cup was the sixth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger (Tier 1) rugby nations (e.g. Argentina Jaguars) against so ...

in Romania. He made substitute appearances in their matches against and and was an unused substitute against .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Shane Rugby union players from Port Elizabeth South African rugby union players Eastern Province Elephants players Southern Kings players South African people of British descent Living people 1992 births Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Urayasu D-Rocks players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan South African expatriate sportspeople in Japan Sunwolves players Japan international rugby union players