Philip Rudolph Botha (born 15 January 1993 in

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 ...

, South Africa) is 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 ...

player for 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 ...

and the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is prop.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

He went to the well-known rugby school Grey College in

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 ...

and was selected to represent local provincial side, the , at several youth tournaments. He represented them at Under-16 level at the Grant Khomo Week in 2009 and was then included in their Under-18 squad for the premier youth tournament, the

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 ...

in both 2010 and 2011, where he was mainly used as a substitute. However, he impressed enough to be included in the squad later in 2011, where he made a number of appearances for them during the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He established himself as a first-choice player for the U19s during the

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

, making eight appearances. He progressed to the side and played nine matches for them during 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 p ...

, scoring three tries. He got his first taste of

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 ...

rugby during the 2014 season, playing in three matches for

-based university side . In the second half of 2014, he returned to the Under-21s to play in 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 ...

Free State Cheetahs

He was an unused member of the squad for the

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) wa ...

, but was once again named in their side for 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 ...

and was included in his first matchday squad when he was named on the bench for their Round Two match against

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

side .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Dolph 1993 births Living people South African expatriate rugby union players in the United States Free State Cheetahs players New England Free Jacks players Rugby union players from Johannesburg Rugby union props Cheetahs (rugby union) players San Diego Legion players Griffons (rugby union) players VVA Podmoskovye players Expatriate rugby union players in Russia Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein SWD Eagles players