Ruan Botha (born 10 January 1992) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. He plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for Kubota Spears in the Japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. He made his provincial debut on 31 March 2012 as the Golden Lions thrashed the Griffons 71–25 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

. Botha started the match before being replaced in the 62nd minute by Hendrik Roodt. His first call-up to the Lions Super Rugby team came ahead of the side's Australian tour during the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super ...

. He made the starting fifteen for the first time in the match against the Chiefs in

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...

on 5 May 2012. Botha was named in the South Africa Under 20 team that won the

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South A ...

. He joined for the 2013 season. In May 2019, following three years with he signed for English

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

on a initial 6 month contract. He was due to return to Irish following the 2019–20 Top League season in Japan which he would spend with Kubota Spears. However, in July 2020 London Irish confirmed he would not be returning.

References

External links

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itsrugby.co.uk profile
Living people 1992 births South African rugby union players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Western Province (rugby union) players Stormers players Afrikaner people Rugby union locks People from Brakpan South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Rugby union players from Gauteng Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players London Irish players {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub