Percy Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Percival Colin "Percy" Montgomery (born 15 March 1974 in Walvis Bay
, South West Africa
, now Namibia
) is a retired South Africa
n rugby union
player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both caps
and points for South Africa's national team
, also known as the Springboks.
, Cape Town
. He played the early part of his South African domestic career for Western Province
in the Currie Cup
and the Stormers in Super Rugby
; after a mid-career stint in Wales
, he returned to South Africa to play for the Natal Sharks
in the Currie Cup and the Sharks in Super Rugby. He later spent the 2007-08 Northern Hemisphere season
in the French Top 14 competition with Perpignan
before returning to South Africa in June 2008. He then played for Western Province and the Stormers before ending his playing career in May 2009.
Montgomery played for Western Province and the Stormers before moving to Wales in 2002 to join Newport RFC, and joined the Newport Gwent Dragons
after the 2003 reorganisation of Welsh rugby into a regional setup. At the end of the 2004-2005 Northern Hemisphere season, he returned to play in South Africa.
Montgomery earned his first Springbok
cap against the British and Irish Lions
in July 1997 as an outside centre. He played at the 1999 Rugby World Cup
finals and had amassed 50 caps by the end of 2001. However, his Springbok career stalled after his move to Wales, since at that time players were only eligible for Springboks selection if they were playing domestically. After a change in policy, he was recalled by new coach Jake White
in 2004. He was the leading points scorer in the Tri Nations
in 2004
and 2005
, and currently holds the record for the most points scored in a career by a Springbok rugby player. On the 17th of June 2006 against Scotland
, he became the first Springbok player to reach 600 points in his Test career, and on the 9th of June 2007 he passed the 700-point mark against Manu Samoa
.
On the 14th of September 2007, Montgomery reached two major milestones in the springboks' second 2007 Rugby World Cup pool match
against England
. He became the first Springbok to score 800 Test points and, more significantly, he equalled Joost van der Westhuizen
as the most-capped Springbok with his 89th appearance. He took sole possession of the Springboks caps record on 22 September against Tonga
. He was the leading point scorer in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
, playing a key role in the Boks' successful march to the Webb Ellis Cup
. Montgomery's 893 Test points give him well over twice as many points as the player in second place on the all-time Springboks points list, Naas Botha
, who played in only 28 Tests compared to Montgomery's 102, since most of his prime years were in South Africa's era of isolation from world rugby.
On the 13th of May 2003 while playing for Newport, Montgomery was sent off for pushing a touch judge to the ground, and was later heavily fined and given a two-year ban, with 18 months suspended, for the offence of "assaulting a match official". He consequently missed the 2003 Rugby World Cup
and returned to play in Wales in early December 2003.
The Australian Fox TV show Inside Rugby gives a weekly award entitled 'The Percy' to the player who makes the worst play on the field during that week's rugby. This is a reference to Percy's somewhat enigmatic and erratic early career where he could do something brilliant and then something woeful in the same match. There is also an 'anti-Percy' award for the best play, an award the man himself has even taken. It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek that almost all Australian rugby fans acknowledge he has proven himself a fine footballer. South African supporters are generally less forgiving.
He left Wales to join the Sharks for the 2006 Super 14
where he played fullback.
For the 2007-2008 season, he signed for the French Top 14 club USA Perpignan
and moved to France
after the World Cup. In May 2008, he was signed by coach Rassie Erasmus
to return to Western Province after completing his commitments with the Springboks. He was contracted to play for Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super 14 to 2009 .
Montgomery became the first Springbok to earn 100 caps, being awarded a gold cap after their game against the All Blacks in Cape Town, losing 19-0.
' tour of South Africa
. Shortly after his appointment was announced, he confirmed his retirement as a player, indicating that he had planned to end his playing career at the end of the 2009 Super 14 season
.
South Africa
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay , is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies...
, South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
, now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
) is a retired South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n 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...
player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
and points for South Africa's national team
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
, also known as the Springboks.
Career
Montgomery attended the oldest school in the country, South African College SchoolsSouth African College Schools
The South African College Schools, commonly referred to as SACS, is a primary and secondary education institution located in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1829, it is the oldest school in South Africa and one of four schools expressly named by Cecil John Rhodes to offer an annual...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He played the early part of his South African domestic career for Western Province
Western Province (rugby team)
DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The team has won the Currie Cup on 32 occasions and has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team...
in the Currie Cup
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
and the Stormers in Super Rugby
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
; after a mid-career stint in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, he returned to South Africa to play for the Natal Sharks
Natal Sharks
The Natal Sharks are a South African rugby union team that participate in the annual Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments. The Sharks home stadium is Kings Park. They draw most of their players from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Sharks are the current representative team of the Natal rugby...
in the Currie Cup and the Sharks in Super Rugby. He later spent the 2007-08 Northern Hemisphere season
2007-08 Top 14 season
The 2007-08 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition, operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Because France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the competition did not begin at its normal time of August, but instead started on the last weekend in October 2007, one week...
in the French Top 14 competition with Perpignan
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...
before returning to South Africa in June 2008. He then played for Western Province and the Stormers before ending his playing career in May 2009.
Montgomery played for Western Province and the Stormers before moving to Wales in 2002 to join Newport RFC, and joined the Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...
after the 2003 reorganisation of Welsh rugby into a regional setup. At the end of the 2004-2005 Northern Hemisphere season, he returned to play in South Africa.
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
cap against the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in July 1997 as an outside centre. He played at the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
finals and had amassed 50 caps by the end of 2001. However, his Springbok career stalled after his move to Wales, since at that time players were only eligible for Springboks selection if they were playing domestically. After a change in policy, he was recalled by new coach Jake White
Jake White
Jake White is a rugby union coach and former coach of the South Africa national rugby union team, the Springboks. His most notable achievements as coach include leading the Springboks to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations title...
in 2004. He was the leading points scorer in the Tri Nations
Rugby Union Tri Nations
The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The competition is organized by SANZAR, a consortium formed by the governing bodies of the Australian Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the South...
in 2004
2004 Tri Nations Series
The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations...
and 2005
2005 Tri Nations Series
-Round Two:-Round Three:-Round Four:-Round Five:-Round Six:-External links:* at Rugby.com.aurugby union schedule for 2005...
, and currently holds the record for the most points scored in a career by a Springbok rugby player. On the 17th of June 2006 against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
, he became the first Springbok player to reach 600 points in his Test career, and on the 9th of June 2007 he passed the 700-point mark against Manu Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
.
On the 14th of September 2007, Montgomery reached two major milestones in the springboks' second 2007 Rugby World Cup pool match
2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool A
Pool A of the 2007 Rugby World Cup began on 8 September and was completed on 30 September. The pool was composed of 2003 World Cup winners England, as well as Samoa, South Africa, Tonga and United States....
against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. He became the first Springbok to score 800 Test points and, more significantly, he equalled Joost van der Westhuizen
Joost van der Westhuizen
Joost van der Westhuizen is a former South African rugby union footballer who was the Springboks' first choice scrum-half in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He was capped 89 times for the Springboks and scored 38 tries...
as the most-capped Springbok with his 89th appearance. He took sole possession of the Springboks caps record on 22 September against Tonga
Tonga national rugby union team
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
. He was the leading point scorer in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
, playing a key role in the Boks' successful march to the Webb Ellis Cup
Webb Ellis Cup
The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilt and has been presented to the winner of the Rugby World Cup since the first competition in 1987...
. Montgomery's 893 Test points give him well over twice as many points as the player in second place on the all-time Springboks points list, Naas Botha
Hendrik Egnatius Botha
Hendrik Egnatius Botha, commonly known as Naas Botha is a Northern Transvaal and Springboks former Rugby union player. He was voted Rugby Player of the Year...
, who played in only 28 Tests compared to Montgomery's 102, since most of his prime years were in South Africa's era of isolation from world rugby.
On the 13th of May 2003 while playing for Newport, Montgomery was sent off for pushing a touch judge to the ground, and was later heavily fined and given a two-year ban, with 18 months suspended, for the offence of "assaulting a match official". He consequently missed the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
and returned to play in Wales in early December 2003.
The Australian Fox TV show Inside Rugby gives a weekly award entitled 'The Percy' to the player who makes the worst play on the field during that week's rugby. This is a reference to Percy's somewhat enigmatic and erratic early career where he could do something brilliant and then something woeful in the same match. There is also an 'anti-Percy' award for the best play, an award the man himself has even taken. It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek that almost all Australian rugby fans acknowledge he has proven himself a fine footballer. South African supporters are generally less forgiving.
He left Wales to join the Sharks for the 2006 Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
where he played fullback.
For the 2007-2008 season, he signed for the French Top 14 club USA Perpignan
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...
and moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after the World Cup. In May 2008, he was signed by coach Rassie Erasmus
Rassie Erasmus
Rassie Erasmus is the current coach of the Stormers rugby franchise in South Africa. Erasmus played mainly as a flanker for the Springboks at international level, for the Free State Cheetahs and the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup, and for the Cats in the Super 12...
to return to Western Province after completing his commitments with the Springboks. He was contracted to play for Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super 14 to 2009 .
Montgomery became the first Springbok to earn 100 caps, being awarded a gold cap after their game against the All Blacks in Cape Town, losing 19-0.
Retirement
Percy Montgomery announced his retirement from international test rugby on 30 August 2008, after the Springboks beat Australia 53-8 in their last game of the 2008 Tri-Nations. In May 2009, he rejoined the Boks, but this time in a coaching role as the team's kicking consultant in the run-up to the British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
' tour of South Africa
2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009....
. Shortly after his appointment was announced, he confirmed his retirement as a player, indicating that he had planned to end his playing career at the end of 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...
.
Honours
Western ProvinceWestern Province (rugby team)
DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The team has won the Currie Cup on 32 occasions and has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team...
- Currie CupCurrie CupThe Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
: 1997, 2000, 2001
South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
- World CupRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
: 20071987 Rugby World CupThe 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two... - Tri Nations: 19981998 Tri Nations SeriesThe 1998 Tri Nations Series was contested from 11 July to 22 August between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Springboks won the tournament.-Table:-Results:...
, 20042004 Tri Nations SeriesThe 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations...