Warrick Venter

Warrick Venter (born 12 February 1993 in East London, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who most recently played with the Eastern Province Kings.[1] His regular position is hooker.

Warrick Venter
Date of birth (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993
Place of birthEast London, South Africa
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb)
SchoolSelborne College, East London
UniversityVarsity College, Durban
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Youth career
2012–2014 Sharks
2014 Eastern Province Kings
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 College Rovers 7 (15)
2015–present NMMU Madibaz 9 (5)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 Eastern Province Kings 12 (0)
Correct as of 9 October 2016

Rugby career

2012–14: Sharks academy and College Rovers

After high school, Venter joined the academy of Durban-based provincial union the Sharks. He was included in the Sharks U19 squad for the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship and was named in their matchday squad for all thirteen of their matches in the competition, although he only started in two of those matches. His side finished in third position on the log to qualify for the semi-finals and he was an unused replacement as Blue Bulls U19 ran out 46–35 winners.[2]

At the start of 2014, Venter represented College Rovers in the 2014 SARU Community Cup competition. He made two starts and two appearances as a replacement in their matches in Pool B during the group stages, helping them to four consecutive victories and scoring tries in their matches against Welkom and Bloemfontein Crusaders.[3] He started all three of their matches during the finals tournament held in George over the Easter weekend. College Rovers won their quarter final match against Old Selbornians 36–13,[4] before losing to Rustenburg Impala in the semi-finals.[5] That meant they played in the Plate Final (effectively the third-place play-off), where Venter scored his third try of the competition against Hamiltons, but it wasn't enough, as the team from Cape Town won 27–18 to condemn College Rovers to fourth spot in the competition.[6]

In August 2014, Venter made a single appearance for Sharks U21 in Group A of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, coming on as a replacement in their match against Golden Lions U19 in Pietermaritzburg.[7]

2014–: Eastern Province Under-21 and NMMU Madibaz

He made further appearances in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, albeit in Group B, as he moved to Port Elizabeth to join the Eastern Province Kings. He made one start and two appearances as a replacement in Eastern Province U21s' three matches during the regular season, which saw them record seven consecutive victories to finish top of the log. He missed out on the semi-final, but did play off the bench in the final, as his side beat SWD U21 46–3 to secure the Group B title.[8] He started in their next match – a promotion play-off match against Border U21 for the right to play in Group A in 2015 – as they won the match 64–9 to secure their promotion to the top tier.[9]

In 2015, Venter joined the NMMU Madibaz for their 2015 Varsity Cup campaign. He made five appearances as NMMU finished the second in seventh (and second-last) position on the log. Venter scored one try in the competition in a 13–40 defeat to the UCT Ikey Tigers in Cape Town.[10] He returned for NMMU's 2016 season and started four of their matches; his side emulated their 2015 form and once again finished in seventh position.

Following serious financial problems at the Eastern Province Kings at the end of the 2015 season which saw a number of first team regular leave the union,[11] a number of younger players were promoted to the squad that competed in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. Venter was among the players named in the squad[12] and he was named in the starting lineup for their first match of the season against the SWD Eagles,[13] playing the first 54 minutes of a 14–37 defeat.[14]

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Warrick Venter". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 46-35 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Bloemfontein Crusaders (FS) 14-78 Jonsson College Rovers (KZN)". South African Rugby Union. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Jonsson College Rovers (KZN) 36-13 Kempston Old Selbornians (Border)". South African Rugby Union. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Jonsson College Rovers (KZN) 13-32 Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)". South African Rugby Union. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Jonsson College Rovers (KZN) 18-27 Hamiltons (WP)". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 19-30 Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – EP Kings U21 46-3 SWD U21". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Border U21 9-64 EP Kings U21". South African Rugby Union. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 40-13 FNB NMMU MADIBAZ". South African Rugby Union. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  11. "Kings facing player exodus?". Rugby365. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  12. "SA Rugby Squad – EP Kings : 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  13. "EP Kings team announced for SWD Eagles match". South African Rugby Union. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – EP Kings 14-37 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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