Quinton James Cowan (born 6 March 1982) is a New Zealand

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 ...

footballer. He first played for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

– New Zealand's national team – during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and France, and played his last Test match for the side during the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. Cowan was born in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

and attended

Gore High School Gore High School was a secondary school in Gore, New Zealand. The school operated until 2023. On 1 January 2024 it merged with Longford Intermediate to form a new school, Māruawai College. Notable staff * Johnny Borland – high jumper, athle ...

. After he left school a strong season for the Mataura Rugby Club saw him selected to play provincially for the Southland Stags in 2000. He was selected for the Highlanders in the 2003

Super 12 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 ...

(now known as Super Rugby) season, and continued to play for both the Highlanders and Southland until signing for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in 2012.

Career

Early years

Cowan was identified as a promising halfback, and is a product of New Zealand's rugby development program. In 2001, he was selected in New Zealand's World Cup Winning Under 19 team. In 2002 and 2003 he was also selected in the

New Zealand Colts The New Zealand Under 21s rugby union team was a national representative team for players aged under-21. In 2008, in accordance with new IRB rule, the New Zealand Under 21s and the Under 19s were both permanently replaced by the New Zealand Und ...

, winning the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in 2003.

Southland

Cowan debuted for the

Stags A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) an ...

in 2000 at the age of 18. He was quickly recognised as a standout in a weak Stags side and after a good season in 2002, he received a call-up to the Highlanders super rugby franchise. His form with the Southland side benefited from his experience at a higher level of rugby and the Stags back line continued to improve. In 2004, after a great

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

competition, Cowan received an

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

call-up for the 2004 end of year tour after becoming the youngest Southlander to bring up 50 games for the province at the age of 22. After missing out on the All Blacks squad to play the

British and 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 ...

in 2005, he returned to the Stags where they came close to beating the Lions with only two

Gavin Henson Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre. Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Ca ...

tries the difference. Once again he was a standout in the NPC resulting in a recall to the All Blacks for the end of year tour. Cowan missed much of the

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the first season of a new structure for the National Provincial Championship (known as the Air New Zealand Cup for sponsorship reasons), contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 20 ...

with All Blacks Tri Nations campaign before being dropped by the end of 2006. In 2007 after missing out once again on the All Blacks Cowan made a strong impression for the Stags helping them to reach the quarter final stages. Since 2008, Cowan has played very few games due to being the All Blacks starting No. 9. He missed out on the Stags first successful

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

challenge in 51 years against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

where his brother Scott took his place as halfback. Cowan was still a part of the win as a water carrier. In September 2012, his final game for Southland before his move to Gloucester saw him reach 100 caps. He is one of only two New Zealanders to have ever registered a century for both his province and a Super Rugby franchise (the other being former All Black captain

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He is head coach of Moana Pasifika in the Super Rugby competition. He was granted ...

Highlanders

After a strong 2002 NPC, Cowan was selected for the Highlanders for 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 was mentored by

Halfbacks Danny Lee and

Byron Kelleher Byron Terence Kelleher (born 3 December 1976 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former rugby union scrum-half who played for Stade Toulouse in the French Top 14 and has played 57 tests for the All Blacks. He was a very aggressive player, who special ...

, who at the end of the season departed

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

and the Highlanders to play for

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

and the Chiefs, leaving Cowan and Ben Hurst to battle for the starting role. Cowan started a majority of 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 ...

and at the end of the season became an All Black. When Tony Brown left the Highlanders in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Cowan became a senior figure in an inexperienced backline and was recognised for his influence in the Highlanders side and good form with the New Zealand Super 14 Player of the Year Award. By the end of the season he had started to form an effective combination with Nick Evans. The combination was a positive in the Highlanders' poor start to the

Super 14 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 ...

competition. When Evans returned to the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

in 2008, Cowan was left once again with an starless, inexperienced backline. Over the next three years Cowan was a feature in a poor Highlanders side becoming captain in 2009. In 2011 with the appointment of a new coach

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

, resulted in

Jamie Mackintosh Jamie Mackintosh (born 20 February 1985) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player currently an assistant coach for the Hurricanes (rugby union) in Super Rugby. He previously played for Section Paloise in the French Top 14 compet ...

replacing Cowan as team captain. In April 2012, Cowan became only the second player in the Highlanders' history to record a century of games (after Anton Oliver, 127). In 2012, the impressive form of new arrival Aaron Smith forced Cowan to become an impact player off the bench. Following the 2012 season and after 108 games for the Highlanders, with 26 as captain

All Blacks

Cowan made his All Black debut age 22, versus

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, coming on as a substitute. In his first test he performed admirably with a probing running game, accurate passing and stout defence marking his performance. His first game as part of the starting line-up was against the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

in 2004. Cowan was next selected for the All Blacks during their successful 2005 Grand Slam Tour. During this tour Cowan played as a substitute in three test matches victories against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. During 2006, Cowan was one of the three halfbacks being used by the All Blacks for their successful

Tri Nations Series The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

. He played as a substitute in three games before starting in the final 20–21 loss to the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. In 2007, he was not selected for the All Blacks and missed out on the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. Cowan was instead named in the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

for their victory in the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Japan and the United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitiv ...

. In 2008, he began to appear regularly for the All Blacks, initially he was primarily used as a substitute. However, midway through the Tri Nations his good form was rewarded and he was recognised as the premier halfback. That November, Cowan was again selected for the All Blacks successful Grand Slam Tour. Coincidentally, it is also during this year that Cowan faced charges related to several incidents of drink-related disorderly behaviour. During a disciplinary hearing, the NZRU provided him with an ultimatum receive alcohol counseling and give up alcohol or lose his contract. In 2010, Cowan spearheaded the All Black recovery from a poor 2009 Tri Nations. Despite recovering from a rib injury the All Blacks won every game with Cowan playing. He also played in the 2010 Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Test game in Hong Kong, scoring a try for the All Blacks. Later that year Cowan played a key role in the All Blacks third successful

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in five years. Cowan started the 2011 season as the incumbent All Black halfback; however, injuries and indifferent Super and International form resulted in his demotion to the third choice halfback behind

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eig ...

and Andy Ellis. Despite this, Cowan still played an important role in the All Blacks successful

, where he played four games (two as substitute) against Tonga, Japan, Canada and Argentina (RWC Quarterfinal). In total Cowan played 53 games for the All Blacks with 51 test matches.

Gloucester Rugby

On 17 April 2012, Jimmy Cowan would leave the Highlanders to join English side

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

for the 2012/13 season. He delayed his arrival at Gloucester so that he could play in the ITM Cup and reach the milestone of 100 appearances for Southland. On 1 June 2014, Cowan was selected for the

defeating

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 ...

39–29 at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

On 7 June 2014, Cowan was also selected for

World XV A World XV (or World 15) is a rugby union team organised on an unofficial, ''ad hoc'' basis and typically composed of invited players from various countries. Several World XVs have been arranged by various bodies since the 1970s, often to take pa ...

, as a replacement from the bench, losing to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

47–13 at

Newlands Stadium The Newlands Stadium is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue. Various sports teams used the stadium as their home base, including: * Stormers in Super Rugby * Wester ...

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 ...

Return to New Zealand

On 14 July 2014, Cowan returned home to New Zealand as he joins Tasman Makos on a one-year contract in their next

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Teknologi Mara, a public university in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia * Institute for Information, Tel ...

campaign. On 17 September 2014, Cowan signed for the

for the upcoming

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

Playing style

Cowan is renowned for his competitive nature and determination. Former teammate Daniel Carter rates Cowan as one of the best defensive halfbacks going around, and says it was like having another loose forward in their side. Coaches and teammates report that Cowan's strongest quality as a person, is his loyalty. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Southlanders Jeff Wilson,

Justin Marshall Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005. Marshall played for the in the Super Rugby, Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning ...

Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...

and Corey Flynn all shifted north to play for larger unions, as they looked to advance their prospects. At the beginning of his career, Cowan received several enticing offers from Super Rugby host provinces, but knocked them back to remain with the Stags and Highlanders. Former All Blacks coach Sir

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

said Cowan was one of the most well-respected players in the national squad and that he had the rare ability to relate with everyone in the team. "He was an extremely popular guy in the All Blacks. Probably, if the All Blacks had to vote on the ultimate team man, I think he would get the prize."

References

External links

*
Highlanders profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Jimmy 1982 births New Zealand international rugby union players Living people New Zealand rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Blues (Super Rugby) players Southland rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players Rugby union scrum-halves New Zealand people of Irish descent Sportspeople from Gore, New Zealand People from Mataura New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England People educated at Gore High School Tasman rugby union players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Rugby union players from the Southland Region 2011 Rugby World Cup players