Roy Andrew Michael Godfrey (born 11 August 1989) 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, currently playing in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with Championship side

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds is a rugby club based in Jersey, Channel Islands that currently competes at the RFU Championship, which is the second tier of English professional rugby. Until season 2022/23, the professional arm of Jersey Reds was part of Jers ...

. His regular position is loosehead prop.

Career

Youth and Varsity Rugby

After playing high school rugby for

Selborne College Selborne College is a semi-private English medium male-only high school situated in the suburb of Selborne (the suburb was named after the school) of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; it is one of the few colleges in the ...

in his hometown of East London, Godfrey moved to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to join the Academy, representing the side during the

2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A was contested from 3 July to 30 October 2010. The tournament (also known as the ''ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship'' for sponsorship reasons) was the top tier of 2010 edition of the Under-21 ...

competition. He returned to the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

in 2012 and joined up with the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often 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 Municipality, Sou ...

-based

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 univers ...

side, the . The Madibaz finished fifth in 2012 Varsity Cup, with Godfrey playing in all seven their matches during the season, scoring two tries. He also played for them in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Not only did he once again start their matches during both these seasons, but he was also named captain of the side. He weighed in with four tries during those two seasons to help the Madibaz achieve their best results in the Varsity Cup, reaching the semi-final for the first time in 2013 and repeating the feat in 2014.

SWD Eagles

Godfrey's Varsity Cup exploits didn't go unnoticed at provincial level and he was signed by

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

-based outfit for the

2013 Currie Cup First Division The 2013 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 June to 11 October 2013. 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 competiti ...

season. He made his debut by starting in the opening match of their season, away to in Godfrey's home town of

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. He scored a total of four tries during the season, the first coming against eventual champions the 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 ...

and also getting a brace against the in George. He was a regular in the side throughout the campaign, starting in all their matches during the season and occasionally captaining the side in the absence of regular skipped

Kabamba Floors Lucas "Kabamba" Floors (born 15 November 1980 in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape) is a former South African rugby union footballer, who made in excess of 200 appearances during his playing career. He started and finished his career at the , making 33 a ...

Perpignan

After the conclusion of the

2014 Currie Cup First Division The 2014 Currie Cup First Division was contested between 29 August and 17 October 2014. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union ...

season, Godfrey signed for

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Rugby Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

side as a short-term replacement for

Sona Taumalolo Sona Taumalolo (born 13 November 1981) is a former professional rugby union player. He played at prop for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup competition; the in Super Rugby; several French clubs; and the Tonga national team. He retired a ...

Wimbledon

He joined English

National League 3 London & SE Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. ...

side Wimbledon RFC prior the 2015–16 season.

Jersey Reds

On 27 April 2017, Godfrey signed for RFU Championship club

prior to the 2017-18 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Roy 1989 births Living people Jersey Reds players Rugby union players from East London, South Africa Rugby union props South African rugby union players SWD Eagles players USA Perpignan players South African expatriate sportspeople in Jersey South African expatriate rugby union players in France South African expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Jersey Alumni of Selborne College