Frankie Horne

Frankie Horne

Personal information
Full name	Francis Henry Horne
Born	24 February 1983 Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
School(s) attended	Hugenote Hoërskool, Wellington
Club information
Playing position	Flanker
Youth career
2002–03	Boland Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Pts)^†
2005–08	Boland Cavaliers	22	(0)
Representative team(s)^‡
2007–	S.A. Sevens	60	(275)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 9 December 2014. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 9 December 2014.

Francis Henry Horne (born 24 February 1983 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who has played for the South African Sevens team since 2007.^[1]

He also played 15-man rugby for Wellington in club rugby and for the Boland Cavaliers at provincial level. He mainly played as a flanker, but also played as a hooker or a centre on occasion.

Career

Youth and amateur rugby

Having grown up in Wellington in the Western Cape, Horne first played rugby at a provincial level when he appeared for the Boland U19 side in the 2002 Under-19 Provincial Championship. In 2003, he also represented the side at Under-20 level.

He also represented Boland-based club side Wellington between 2002 and 2006.

Boland Cavaliers

He made his first class debut for the Boland Cavaliers during the 2005 Vodacom Cup competition, starting their opening match of the season against the Pumas and helping them to a 34–20 victory.^[2] He made two more substitute appearances in their matches against Griquas^[3] and the Leopards^[4] as his side finished second in Section X of the competition to reach the semi-final of the competition. He also represented Boland's amateur side in the Provincial Amateur Competition in 2005.

In the 2006 Vodacom Cup, Horne made a solitary appearance for the Cavaliers in their match against the Free State XV,^[5] but he didn't go unnoticed by the South African Sevens selectors and earned a call-up to a Sevens training group at the end of 2006.^[6]

He once again had limited involvement in the 2007 Vodacom Cup, playing off the bench on two occasions as the replacement hooker. However, he was included in the Boland Cavaliers Currie Cup side for the 2007 Currie Cup Premier Division. He made his Currie Cup debut on 22 June 2007 against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein,^[7] being on the wrong end of a 91–3 scoreline. After three more matches that saw Horne play-off the bench, he made his first start in their 50–25 defeat to the Sharks^[8] and eventually made a total of eight appearances.

Despite mainly being involved with the South African Sevens side (see below), he did return to provincial action for the Boland Cavaliers during the 2008 Currie Cup Premier Division, starting on five occasions and playing off the bench in one match.

South African Sevens

Frankie Horne

Medal record
Representing  South Africa
Men's Rugby sevens
Commonwealth Games
	2014 Glasgow	Team
World Games
	2009 Kaohsiung	Team

When the South African Rugby Union introduced central contracts for sevens players in 2007, Horne was one of the players that they contracted for the 2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series.^[9] He made his sevens debut at the 2007 Dubai Sevens tournament and immediately established himself as a key player for the team, appearing in all eight tournaments in the series.

He once again played every leg of the 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series, as South Africa won the series for the first time at their tenth attempt. He also played in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens competition, helping South Africa to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Argentina. He also won a bronze medal with the side at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan).

He remained an ever-present for the side over the next few seasons. During the 2013 London Sevens, Horne played in his 50th consecutive IRB Sevens World Series tournament, becoming the first player to achieve this feat.^[10]

He was also selected in the squad that played at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and helped his side to a 17–12 victory over a New Zealand that won the previous four tournaments.^[11]

References

1. "SARU Player Profile Frankie Horne". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
2. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs @tlantic Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
3. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs Wildeklawer Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
4. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs Impala Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
5. "Match Breakdown: Fidentia Boland Cavaliers vs Vodacom Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
6. "Kabamba lei SA se Blitsbokke op veld" (in Afrikaans). Die Burger. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
7. "Match Breakdown: Vodacom Free State Cheetahs vs Boland Kavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
8. "Match Breakdown: The Sharks vs Boland Kavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
9. "Sewes nie meer stiefkind" (in Afrikaans). Die Burger. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
10. "Horne to rewrite Sevens history books". SABC. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
11. "Glasgow 2014 – Men's Rugby Sevens Gold Medal Match". Glasgow 2014 – XX Commonwealth Games. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.