Chad Solomon (born 23 February 1994) 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 for the in
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 ...
and 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 in the
Rugby Challenge.
His regular position is hooker.
Rugby career
2007–2012 : Schoolboy rugby
Solomon was born in
Bellville. He represented his local provincial union since primary school level, when he played at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament held in
Krugersdorp in 2007.
He progressed through the youth ranks, playing for Western Province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2010
and at the premier high schools rugby union competition in South Africa, the Under-18
Craven Week, in both 2011
and 2012,
scoring a try for Western Province in their match against the Blue Bulls in the latter tournament.
He was selected in a
South Africa Schools team after the 2012 Craven Week
and featured in all three matches in the Under-18 International Series held between South Africa and their counterparts from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
2013–2015 : Youth, Varsity Cup and Vodacom Cup rugby
Solomon joined the academy after school, and made eleven appearances for the side in the
2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship
The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa.
Competition
Group A
There are seven part ...
. He scored tries against
and
in a disappointing season which saw the defending champions failing to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing in fourth spot.
At the start of 2014, Solomon made seven appearances for the in the
2014 Varsity Cup
The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...
competition. The team won five of their seven matches during the regular season to finish in second place on the log.
Solomon was an unused replacement as his side beat
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 ...
rivals 20–8 in the semi-final
He came on for the final eight minutes of the final against in
Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...
, where he was part of a comeback that saw UCT fight back from 33–15 down with five minutes to go to score a 39–33 victory, to win the competition for the second time.
In between playing Varsity Cup rugby, Solomon also made two appearances for 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 ...
; he came on as a replacement in against their defeat to the to make his first class debut
and against the a fortnight later.
He was intermittently used by during the
2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship
The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014.
Group A
...
, making six appearances during the regular season, starting three of those. His side finished top of the log, winning eleven of their twelve matches,
and progressed to the final, where they lost to the s.
He was the undisputed first choice hooker for as they attempted to defend their title in the
2015 Varsity Cup
The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...
; he started all seven of their matches during the regular season, scoring a try against the in a 90–8 win
as UCT finished in third spot to qualify for the play-offs.
Solomon started their semi-final against in
Bloemfontein and scored one of two tries in the match, but it proved to be futile, with the home team winning 21–10.
At the conclusion of the competition, Solomon was included in a Varsity Cup Dream Team
that played in a match against the
South Africa Under-20 team.
He was also the first choice for the s during the
2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship, starting eleven of their fourteen matches, coming on as a replacement in one more match. He scored a try in a 51–22 victory over the s
as Western Province clinched top spot on the log.
Solomon started their 43–20 win over in their semi-final match,
and also the final against , which Western Province won 52–17 to secure the title.
2016–present : Western Province
Solomon returned to first class rugby action in 2016, playing for in the
2016 Currie Cup qualification
The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the f ...
series.
He made ten starts and three appearances off the bench in Western Province's fourteen matches, of which they won thirteen to top the log.
Solomon had his most proficient try-scoring season of his career, scoring no less than six tries, against
the ,
the ,
the ,
the
and the ,
to finish as Western Province's joint-top try scorer with winger
Khanyo Ngcukana.
Solomon was included in 's
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 ...
squad for the
2016 Currie Cup Premier Division
The 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division was the top tier of the second stage of the 2016 Currie Cup, the 78th edition of this annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was played between 5 August and ...
and named on the bench for their opening match of the season against the . He made his Currie Cup debut by coming on for the final 25 minutes of a 26–45 defeat.
However, Solomon suffered an ankle injury during the match and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Chad
1994 births
Living people
Cape Coloureds
Rugby union hookers
Rugby union players from Bellville, South Africa
South African rugby union players
Southern Kings players
Stormers players
Western Province (rugby union) players