Egon Ryan Seconds (born 16 November 1980) is a former South African professional

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 who usually played as a winger. He represented 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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

in 2003 and 2007, and domestically played for between 2001 and 2007 and for in 2008. He was selected to represent South Africa 'A' in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and also appeared in ten tournaments for the South Africa Sevens team, winning a bronze medal at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

. He is currently serving on the South African Rugby Referees' Premier Panel.

Rugby career

2001–2007: Western Province and Stormers

Seconds was born in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and he spent the bulk of his career playing rugby for his hometown team . After representing them at Under-19 and Under-21 level, he made his first class debut for Western Province in 2001. He joined the South Africa Sevens team, playing for them in eight tournaments during the

2001–02 World Sevens Series The 2001–02 World Sevens Series was the third edition of the World Rugby Sevens Series, global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, organised by the World Rugby, International Rugby Board. The series ran from November 2001 to May 2002. ...

, helping the team to second place in the overall standings. He also played for them at the

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, winning a bronze medal as South Africa finished third in the tournament. He returned to the fifteen-man code of the game, playing for Western Province in the 2002 Currie Cup, scoring a first-half

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in their 68–24 victory over . He appeared in ten of the ' eleven matches in the

2003 Super 12 season The 2003 Super 12 season was the eighth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2003, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular sea ...

; he started five matches and came on as a replacement in a further five matches, also scoring his first try in Super Rugby in their 39–29 victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n side the in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in their Round Five match. He scored eleven tries in twelve appearances for Western Province in the

2003 Currie Cup The 2003 Currie Cup was the 2003 season of the South African domestic rugby union competition, the Absa Group Limited, Absa Currie Cup premier division, played from 26 July 2003 – 1 November 2003. The 2003 Currie Cup saw the implementation of ...

, the second-highest tally in the competition, but failed to feature for the Stormers in the

2004 Super 12 season The 2004 Super 12 season was the ninth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2004, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seaso ...

. He had an even more prolific Currie Cup season in

, scoring 13 tries, again the second-highest by any player. After the season, he was included in a South Africa 'A' squad for their end-of-year tour to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, making two appearances and scoring three tries. He remained in Western Province's first team throughout 2005 and 2006, maintaining his try-scoring form – three tries in the

2005 Vodacom Cup The 2005 Vodacom Cup was the 8th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between province, provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions. Competition There were 1 ...

, seven in the 2005 Currie Cup Qualification Round, three in the 2005 Currie Cup Premier Division, and six each in the

2006 Vodacom Cup The 2006 Vodacom Cup was the 9th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between province, provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions. Competition There were 14 ...

and

2006 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2006 ABSA Currie Cup season was contested from June through to October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for rugby union clubs in South Africa. The tournament was controversial before it even began, with the Southern Spear ...

– but failed to feature at Super Rugby level during this time. He made one appearance for the Stormers in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, against the in

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almost four years since his last appearance, but made just two more appearances for Western Province in 2007.

2008–2009: Griquas

Seconds moved to

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 ...

to join for the 2008 season. He made 23 appearances for his new team, with a haul of five tries during the 2009 Vodacom Cup being his most prolific spell. He was also included in a Highveld XV team that played a midweek match against the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

during their 2009 tour to South Africa, losing 25–37. His

2009 Currie Cup The 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division season was the 71st season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 10 July through to 31 October. It was won by the Blue Bulls, who defeated the Free State Chee ...

campaign with Griquas proved to be his last, as he retired at the end of the season.

Refereeing career

In 2014, Seconds took up refereeing after a discussion with former test referee Mark Lawrence. After refereeing for just a few months, he was included on the South African Rugby Referees' Contenders Panel for 2015. He took charge of matches in the

Community Cup The Community Cup (known as the Reclink Community Cup since 2009 under naming rights) is an annual charity event which features a celebrity mixed-gender Australian rules football match. It is noted for its cult following, celebrity appearan ...

and Group B of the Under-19 Provincial Championship. A restructuring of the refereeing panels saw him move up to the National Panel for 2016. He refereed in the 2016 Varsity Shield competition at the start of the season, before making his debut in a first class match when he took charge of the versus match in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He was eventually assigned to officiate a total eight matches in that competition, plus matches in the Under-20 and Under-21 Provincial Championships. He also refereed as schoolboy level, taking charge of three matches at the Under-18

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 ...

tournament and the international match between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

in the annual Under-18 International Series. He took charge of two more first class matches – against the and the against the in the 2016 Currie Cup First Division. At the end of 2016, the South African Rugby Referees' Association announced that Seconds was promoted to their seven-man Premier Panel for 2017, the highest-ranked panel a referee can serve on in South African domestic rugby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seconds, Egon South African rugby union players Living people 1980 births Rugby union players from Cape Town Rugby union wings Griquas (rugby union) players Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players South Africa international rugby sevens players South African rugby union referees SARU referees Currie Cup referees Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for South Africa Super Rugby referees Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games