Conway Pretorius (born 4 July 1992 in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa) 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 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 number eight.

Career

Youth

Pretorius was born in

, but grew up in Strand in the

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 ...

. After high school, he joined the Harmony Sports Academy in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where he also got involved with the side, playing in all their matches during the

2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2011 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was contested from 15 July to 29 October 2011. The tournament featured the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There were seven partici ...

Division B competition and helped the Griffons win the title by beating the team in the final in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He also played in the promotion/relegation match against the , but the Griffons lost the match and remained in Division B. In 2013, he moved back to the

to join the . He was again an ever-present in the side that finished second on the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

log and lost in the final to the side in

Nelspruit Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...

. Pretorius scored five tries during the competition, including a brace against .

Boland Cavaliers

In 2014, he graduated to the ' Vodacom Cup side. He made his first class debut by starting in the Third Round of 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 ...

, when Boland travelled to Swellendam to face the . In just his second first class match, Pretorius scored a hat-trick of tries in a 15-minute spell during the first half of the match to help his side secure a 24–19 victory over Kenyan invitational side . He retained his spot in the run-on side for the remainder of the competition, making five appearances in total.

Griquas

Pretorius joined

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

side on a two-month deal for the

2014 Currie Cup qualification The 2014 Currie Cup qualification series was a tournament organised by the South African Rugby Union. It featured seven teams and was played in June and July 2014, with the winner qualifying for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division. The remaining ...

competition.

Perugia

At the start of 2015, Pretorius joined Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

. However, he left after just half a season with the side.

Kelso

Pretorius then moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

where he joined Scottish National League Division One side Kelso.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretorius, Conway South African rugby union players Living people 1992 births Rugby union players from Pretoria Boland Cavaliers players Griquas (rugby union) players Rugby union number eights