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

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 ...

with Championship side

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds was a rugby union club based in Jersey, Channel Islands. On 28th September 2023, the club ceased trading and shortly thereafter went into liquidation following the withdrawal of financial support from a key investor. Until seaso ...

. 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 school situated in the suburb of Selborne and Belgravia (the suburb was named after the school) of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; it is one of the few colle ...

in his hometown of East London, Godfrey moved to

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

to join the Academy, representing the side during the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship competition. He returned to the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

in 2012 and joined up with the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...

-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 unive ...

side, the . The Madibaz finished fifth in

2012 Varsity Cup The 2012 Varsity Cup was contested from 6 February to 9 April 2012. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, with Godfrey playing in all seven their matches during the season, scoring two tries. He also played for them in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. 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: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

-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 compe ...

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 London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

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

Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...

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.

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 uni ...

season, Godfrey signed for

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Rugby Pro D2 The 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 introduced in 2000. It ...

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 (formerly known as London & South East Premier and 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. When this division began in 1987 ...

side Wimbledon RFC prior the 2015–16 season.

Jersey Reds

On 27 April 2017, Godfrey signed for

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

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 21st-century South African sportsmen South African expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Jersey Alumni of Selborne College