James McGougan is a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 prop who currently plays provincial rugby for Otago

Otago Rugby Football Union

The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...

 in the ITM Cup. He has also previously played for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition.

Playing career

McGougan made his debut for Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union

The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is the official governing body for rugby union in the Bay of Plenty, in the North-East of the North Island...

 during the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup

2007 Air New Zealand Cup

The 2007 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 26 July 2007, and the Final, in which Auckland defeated Wellington, was held on Saturday 20 October....

 and by the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup

2008 Air New Zealand Cup

The 2008 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 31 July 2008, and continued until the final on 25 October 2008....

 was a regular starter for the province. His strong performances earned him a contract with the Chiefs for the 2009 Super 14 season

2009 Super 14 season

The 2009 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2009 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 30 May, when the Bulls won their second Super Rugby title with a decisive 61–17 victory over the Waikato Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. The 2009 season...

, and he turned in an excellent campaign, making 15 appearances as the Chiefs reached the Super Rugby final. His season was capped with a selection to the Junior All Blacks

Junior All Blacks

The Junior All Blacks are a New Zealand rugby union team. The Junior All Blacks are not an age grade side, but the second national team behind the New Zealand national rugby union team....

 when Jamie Mackintosh

Jamie Mackintosh

Jamie Mackintosh is a professional rugby union player who plays provincially for Southland and for the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, serving as team captain of both sides...

 was forced to withdraw due to injury.

After another strong provincial season for Bay of Plenty, McGougan was back with the Chiefs for the 2010

2010 Super 14 season

The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, featured a total of 94 matches, with each team playing one...

 season, but missed almost the entire year due to a back injury, making only a single substitute appearance. His back problems continued during the 2010 ITM Cup

2010 ITM Cup

The 2010 ITM Cup was the 34th provincial rugby union competition, the fifth since the competition reconstruction in 2006 and the first under the new sponsor of ITM , involving the top 14 provincial unions of New Zealand...

, where he was forced to end his season after 7 matches and rule himself out of the 2011 Super Rugby season.

After his injury layoff, McGougan signed with Otago for the 2011 ITM Cup

2011 ITM Cup

The 2011 ITM Cup is the 35th provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand, the sixth since the competition reconstruction in 2006 and the second under the new sponsor of ITM ....

.

External links

• Otago Profile