Ryan Kankowski
Encyclopedia
Ryan Kankowski is a South African rugby union
player, who plays for the Natal Sharks
provincially, The Sharks in the Super 14
and he has been capped by the Springboks
at international level.
Kankowski is a tall, strong, yet pacey and skilled Number eight. He is also capable of playing as an Openside Flanker
. He has a natural flair on attack, breaking the line with powerful runs from the back of the scrum, whilst he is unrelenting on defense. He is also an incredibly dangerous runner in open play. His game is reminiscent of that of Zinzan Brooke
and, with maturity and leadership qualities that belie his age.
Kankowski was first selected to represent South Africa during the Springboks 2007 end of year tour to Wales & England. He made a try
-scoring test debut on the tour as a substitute during South Africa's resounding 34–12 victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium
on 24 November 2007, crossing the line for his team's 5th try as the Springboks got their reign as World Champions
of to a winning start.
Although possessing the undoubted skills and talent to be a regular international, he has faced stiff opposition from Pierre Spies
and the controversial Luke Watson
for the Bok number 8 jersey. And with the recent emergence of the young and talented Duane Vermeulen
, there is set to be even more competition for the Bok number 8 jersey in the future. As a result, he has mostly been an impact player, with 9 of his 15 Test Caps coming as a substitute. His most productive year was in 2008, when he received multiple nominations for his performances at Super Rugby and provincial level and was subsequently rewarded by being part of the Springboks Incoming Tour, their Tri Nations squad and their end of year Outgoing Tour. He was also part of the Springbok squad selected to play 3 Tests against the British and Irish Lions
on their tour of South Africa in 2009
.
He received one of his nicknames, "Definite", from his close friends as they believed he would definitely be a Springbok rugby player at some stage.
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, who plays 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...
provincially, The Sharks in the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
and he has been capped by the Springboks
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...
at international level.
Kankowski is a tall, strong, yet pacey and skilled Number eight. He is also capable of playing as an Openside Flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
. He has a natural flair on attack, breaking the line with powerful runs from the back of the scrum, whilst he is unrelenting on defense. He is also an incredibly dangerous runner in open play. His game is reminiscent of that of Zinzan Brooke
Zinzan Brooke
Zinzan Valentine Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight...
and, with maturity and leadership qualities that belie his age.
Kankowski was first selected to represent South Africa during the Springboks 2007 end of year tour to Wales & England. He made a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
-scoring test debut on the tour as a substitute during South Africa's resounding 34–12 victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
on 24 November 2007, crossing the line for his team's 5th try as the Springboks got their reign as World Champions
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
of to a winning start.
Although possessing the undoubted skills and talent to be a regular international, he has faced stiff opposition from Pierre Spies
Pierre Spies
Pierre Johan Spies is a South African rugby union player. His usual position is number 8 , where he plays for the Vodacom Bulls in the international Super 14 competition. He has represented the Springboks since 2006.He made his debut for the Blue Bulls in 2005 in a match against the Griquas...
and the controversial Luke Watson
Luke Watson
Luke Asher Watson is a South African rugby union footballer who can play at flank or eighthman. He has represented and captained the South African Schools rugby team , South Africa's under-19 and under-21 teams, as well as the Springbok Sevens team...
for the Bok number 8 jersey. And with the recent emergence of the young and talented Duane Vermeulen
Duane Vermeulen
Duane Vermeulen is a South African rugby union player, who represents Western Province provincially and the Vodacom Stormers in the Super 14.Vermeulen plays as a Number eight but he is equally adept at playing both blindside and openside flanker....
, there is set to be even more competition for the Bok number 8 jersey in the future. As a result, he has mostly been an impact player, with 9 of his 15 Test Caps coming as a substitute. His most productive year was in 2008, when he received multiple nominations for his performances at Super Rugby and provincial level and was subsequently rewarded by being part of the Springboks Incoming Tour, their Tri Nations squad and their end of year Outgoing Tour. He was also part of the Springbok squad selected to play 3 Tests 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...
on their tour of South Africa in 2009
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....
.
He received one of his nicknames, "Definite", from his close friends as they believed he would definitely be a Springbok rugby player at some stage.
Awards & Nominations
- 2008 SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee
- 2008 SasolSasolSasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...
Player of the Year nominee
- 2008 VodacomVodacomVodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
Super 14Super 14Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
South African Player of the Year
- 2008 ABSAAbsa Group LimitedThe Absa Group Limited is the largest consumer bank in South Africa.- Overview :Absa is based in Johannesburg and listed on the JSE Limited and is one of South Africa's largest financial institutions...
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...
– Premier Division Player of the Year nominee