Waylon Michael Murray (born 27 April 1986 in Durban, South Africa) is a

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. He has retired from professional rugby and is now the director of sport at Kearsney College. He stands 190 cm tall and weighs in at 105 kg and plays the position of centre or

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

. He went to Westville Boys High School where he was a prefect and head of school in 2003 and played in the 1st XV in 2003.

Career

Sharks

During his debut season in the 2006

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

Super 14 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 ...

season for the and , Murray showed great promise as a quality centre for his provincial team. Parlaying those performances into his debut Super 14 season in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Murray slowly rose to prominence as one of South Africa's leading centres, owing in no small part to his tenacity on defence and astute ball distribution skills, often, with former provincial team-mate

Brad Barritt Bradley Barritt (born 7 August 1986) is a South African-born former rugby union player. He played the position of centre. Early life Barritt attended Kearsney College. Career Barritt's debut season was in 2006 for the and Sharks in the Curri ...

, providing a valuable link to the wings and offering stability to The Sharks midfield. Murray's stunning form saw him being selected for the Springboks away leg of the 2007 Tri Nations as the first choice centres were being rested for the World Cup. However he narrowly missed selection to the victorious South Africa squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. The Murray and Barritt partnership was however disrupted after

François Steyn François Philippus Lodewyk Steyn (born 14 May 1987) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Cheetahs (rugby union) in Pro 14. He usually plays at inside centre, fullback ...

's superb performances in the number 12 jersey for the Springboks during the

. This meant that Murray had to challenge Barritt for the no. 13 shirt during much of

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

, but the partnership resumed during the ABSA Currie Cup due to the absence of François Steyn and Adi Jacobs. However, with the return of the Springboks, and with Adi Jacobs' stunning form, Murray saw little game time. Murray was injured during the whole of the 2009 Super 14, and slowly began to be exposed to rugby during the Currie Cup, after a seven-month absence.

Lions

On 7 June 2010, the agreed to release him from his contract so he could join the .

Kings

At the end of 2012, his Lions contract expired and he joined the , also being named in the wider training group 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 ...

. However, having recently undergone knee surgery, he was struggling for full fitness for a large part of the campaign and made just four starts and three substitute appearances during the Super Rugby season. He also played in the second leg of the Kings' Promotion/Relegation play-Offs series against the . He also made one appearance in the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First ...

for the , appearing as a substitute in their match against the .

Bulls

After the

, he joined the , signing a contract at the team until October 2015. He failed to break into their

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, however, being limited to six appearances in 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 ...

and eight 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 ...

Sharks (2015)

He returned to Durban, where he linked up with the for pre-season training prior to the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. He was released by the Sharks in November 2015.

AS Mâcon

After the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

, Murray moved to France to join

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Waylon 1986 births Living people Blue Bulls players Eastern Province Elephants players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Durban Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players South Africa international rugby union players South African rugby union players Southern Kings players