Charles Maclean Marais (born 29 August 1988) was a South African

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

professional player for the in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

and the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

. His regular position is prop.

Career

Youth and Varsity rugby

Despite not representing at secondary school level while a scholar at

Paarl Boys' High School Paarl Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl (or Boishaai), is a public dual-medium high school for boys and is one of the oldest schools in South Africa, built in 1868. The school is situated in Paarl, a town in the We ...

, Marais were included in the squad for the 2007 Under-19 Provincial Championship after he moved to

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

to enroll at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

. He also represented his university side in the

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each unive ...

competition, playing for them in five consecutive seasons between

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, amassing 26 appearances and scoring three tries.

Free State Cheetahs

His first class debut came during the

2010 Vodacom Cup The 2010 Vodacom Cup was contested from 26 February to 7 May. The 2010 Vodacom Cup is the 13th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vod ...

competition. He missed the early rounds of the competition due to his involvement in the

2010 Varsity Cup The 2010 Varsity Cup was contested from 1 February to 29 March 2010. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-uni ...

competition, but made his debut by starting in their

Round 6 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * Having no sharp corners, as an ellipse, circle, or sphere * Rounding, reducing the number of significant figures in a number * Round number, ending with one or more zeroes * Round (crypto ...

loss against

Argentinean Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

invitational side the in Parow, Cape Town. He remained in the starting line-up for the remainder of the competition and helped the Free State XV reach the final, where they lost 31–29 to the . He remained involved in the Free State's

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

campaigns in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

, making a total of fifteen appearances. However, he was never included in a

squad during his time in

Griffons

His lack of involvement in

action for the saw Marais have two short spells at near-neighbours the . He made his Currie Cup debut for them during the

2012 Currie Cup First Division The 2012 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 30 June to 13 October 2012. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union comp ...

in their match against the , marking the occasion by scoring his first ever senior try early in the second half. He made five appearances in the competition for the

Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...

-based side and returned for one match in

, coming on as a substitute against the in

Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...

Golden Lions / Lions

Marais moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

to join the for the 2014 season. He was a regular in their squad for 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 th ...

competition, playing in all ten of their matches during the competition, starting eight of those. He was once again involved in a Vodacom Cup final, but once again ended up on the losing side, as the Golden Lions lost 30–6 to in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

. Marais also made his

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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

debut during the 2014 season, coming on as a substitute in their match against the after being a late inclusion on the bench following Julian Redelinghuys' withdrawal through injury.

Eastern Province Kings

In July 2014, it was announced that Marais would join the 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 ...

competition. He signed a deal that would see him play for the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...

-based side until the end of 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marais, Charles South African rugby union players Living people 1988 births Rugby union players from Paarl Rugby union props Free State Cheetahs players Golden Lions players Griffons (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Eastern Province Elephants players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Alumni of Paarl Boys' High School 21st-century South African sportsmen