Werner Kok (born 17 January 1993) 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, currently playing with the South African Sevens team. His regular position is centre or winger. Kok was a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rugby career

Youth

At high school level, Kok represented the Pumas at the Under-16 2009 Grant Khomo Week and also 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 ...

tournament in 2011, where he scored a try in their match against Boland. In 2012, Kok moved to

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 ...

, where he represented the side during the

2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament featured the Under-19 players from the fourteen Currie Cup unions. Competition Division A There were seven participating teams in the 201 ...

. He made eleven appearances for them in the competition. He scored one try during the regular season – their second-last match against – and scored a second try for the side in the final against the to help them to a 22–18 victory to see them win the championship.

South African Sevens

In 2013, Kok became involved with the South African Sevens side. He made his debut for them at the

2013 London Sevens The 2013 London Sevens was the seventh edition of the rugby union tournament and the final stage of the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series and was hosted at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Format The teams were divided into pools of four t ...

, the final event of the

2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series The 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC Sevens World Series, was the 14th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides. The IRB Sevens World Series has been run by the International Rug ...

. He didn't play in the

2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tourname ...

in June 2013, but he did represent South Africa at the

2013 World Games The 2013 World Games ( es, Juegos Mundiales 2013), the ninth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in the city of Cali, Colombia, from July 25 to August 4. Host city allocation history The 2013 World Games were initially all ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, where South Africa won the event, beating

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the final. Kok established himself as a regular for South Africa during the

2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series The 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC Sevens World Series, was the 15th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides. The IRB Sevens World Series has been run by the Internation ...

, including their wins at the

2013 South Africa Sevens The 2013 South Africa Sevens was the third tournament within the 2013–2014 Sevens World Series. It was held over the weekend of 7–8 December 2013 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, with South Africa emerging the winners. Format ...

and the

2014 USA Sevens The 2014 USA Sevens (also sometimes referred to as the 2014 Las Vegas Sevens) was the eleventh edition of the USA Sevens tournament, and the fifth tournament of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series. The tournament was held January 24–26, 2014 ...

. He was also included in their squad that played at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, helping his side all the way to the final, where they got a 17–12 victory over a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that won the previous four tournaments. Kok was named the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year for 2015 following his performances in the 2014–15 IRB Sevens World Series, where he was also the leading tackler in the series.

2016 Summer Olympics

Kok was included in a 12-man squad for the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. He was named as a substitute for their first match in Group B of the competition against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kok, Werner South African rugby union players Living people 1993 births Sportspeople from Mbombela Rugby union centres Rugby union wings South Africa international rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for South Africa Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players for South Africa Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Western Province (rugby union) players World Games gold medalists Competitors at the 2013 World Games Stade Toulousain players Sharks (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games