Patrick Howard (rugby union)

Patrick Howard
Personal information
Full name Patrick Benjamin Howard
Born (1992-03-27) 27 March 1992
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
School(s) attended Michaelhouse, KwaZulu-Natal
Club information
Playing position Centre / Winger
Current club Northampton Saints
Youth career
2005–10 Sharks
2011–12 Western Province
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Pts)†
2012–15 Western Province 26 (25)
2014–15 → Munster 9 (5)
2015 Stormers 2 (0)
2015– Northampton Saints 0 (0)
Representative team(s)‡
2012 S.A. Under–20 3 (5)

* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 31 May 2015.
† Appearances (Points).

‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 26 October 2013.

Patrick Benjamin Howard is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with English Premiership side Northampton Saints having previously played for Western Province in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup and with the Stormers in Super Rugby.[1] His usual position is centre or winger.

Career

Youth

In 2005, at primary school level, Howard was selected to represent his local provincial side KwaZulu-Natal at the Under–13 Craven Week tournament. He also represented them at the Under-18 Craven Week competitions in both 2009 and 2010. In 2010, he also secured inclusion in a South African Under-18 High Performance squad that played matches against France, Namibia and England.[2]

After finishing high school, Howard moved to Cape Town to join the Western Province for the 2011 season. He was a key member of the Western Province U19 side that reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, starting in twelve of their thirteen matches and scoring seven tries, which included a hat-trick in their match against SWD U19.[3]

In 2012, Howard was named in the South Africa Under–20 side that participated in the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship on home soil. He started the first match of the competition at outside centre, but was on the losing side as they suffered a 19–23 defeat to Ireland.[4] He came on as a substitute in their next pool match against Italy, scoring a try in injury time at the end of the match to help South Africa to a convincing 52–3 victory.[5] He started their final match in the pool stages against England on the left wing and played the entire 80 minutes as his side achieved a 28–15 victory to qualify for the semi-finals.[6] An untimely hamstring injury ruled Howard out of the remainder of the tournament,[7] with his side going on to win the competition for the first time, beating New Zealand 22–16 in the final.[8]

He returned to provincial action in August 2012, representing the Western Province U21s in the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored five tries in eight appearances – two of those in their semi-final match against his local side the Sharks U21 in Durban[9] – as Western Province reached the final, only to lose to the Blue Bulls U21 side.[10]

Western Province

During the 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division, Howard was included in the Western Province squad. Despite not having played Vodacom Cup rugby (the traditional pathway for players), he made his first class and Currie Cup debut in their Round Five match against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, playing off the bench just after the hour mark,[11] with a second appearance against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria.[12]

He made his Vodacom Cup debut in 2013 and started all nine of their matches during the competition as they reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Golden Lions in a 44–25 defeat in Johannesburg.[13] Howard scored his first and second senior tries during the competition – both in their Round Five match against 2011 winners, Argentine side Pampas XV.[14] Like the previous season, he once again got limited playing time in the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division, appearing in just two matches – a 24–24 draw against the Blue Bulls which saw Howard scored his first Currie Cup try[15] and a 15–14 victory over the Free State Cheetahs a week later.[16] He reverted to the Western Province U21 side for the remainder of 2013, scoring six tries in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, which included braces in consecutive weeks in their matches against Border U21[17] and Golden Lions U21,[18] as well as a try in the final of the competition to help them beat the Blue Bulls 30–23 in Cape Town.[19]

He didn't play in the 2014 Vodacom Cup, suffering with a hamstring injury, but returned to action for them in their matches against Kenya[20] and Namibia[21] in June 2014. He played in six matches during the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division season, scoring the first points of the season for Western Province as they ran out 35–16 winners against the Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth in their opening match,[22] and scoring a further try in their final group match of the season against the Sharks.[23] He didn't feature in the play-offs as Western Province won their 33rd Currie Cup title, beating the Golden Lions 19–16 in the final.[24]

Munster

During the South African off-season, he joined Irish side Munster on a three-month contract as injury cover during the 2014–15 season.[25] He made his debut for Munster by coming on as a late replacement during their 38–12 victory over Welsh side Newport Gwent Dragons in Round Eight of the Pro12 season.[26] He made his first start for Munster in their next Pro12 match, a 21–20 victory over fellow Irish side Ulster.[27] A week later, he made his debut in the 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup, playing the full 80 minutes in their home match against French outfit Clermont.[28] He remained involved in first team action until the end of January, making a total of six appearances in the Pro12 competition and three in the European Rugby Champions Cup. His final match was Munster's final match in Pool 1 of the Champions Cup against Premiership side Sale Sharks. Despite only coming on during the second half of the match, he scored his first try in Munster colours to help them to a 65–10 victory.[29] His short-term contract expired and he returned to South Africa in February 2015.[30]

Northampton Saints

In April 2015, English Premiership side Northampton Saints announced that Howard would join them for the 2014–15 English Premiership season.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Player Profile Patrick Howard". sarugby.net. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "SARU announces U18 High Performance squad". South African Rugby Union. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Western Province vs SWD". South African Rugby Union. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Ireland". South African Rugby Union. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Italy". South African Rugby Union. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs England". South African Rugby Union. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Baby Boks lose Howard". Rugby365. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Match Breakdown: New Zealand vs South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Sharks vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Vodacom Blue Bulls vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Match Breakdown: MTN Golden Lions vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Match Breakdown: ICBC Pampas XV vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Toyota Free State Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Border vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs MTN Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "DHL WP win in Kenya". Western Province. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "DHL WP lose it at the death". Western Province. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Eastern Province Kings vs DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Cell C Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Xerox Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  25. ↑ "Howard to join Munster" (Press release). Munster Rugby. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  26. ↑ "Five-try showing gives Munster fourth straight win". Guinness Pro12. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  27. ↑ "Late Humphreys miss moves Munster above Ulster". Guinness Pro12. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  28. ↑ "Clermont storm Thomond Park". European Rugby Champions Cup. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  29. ↑ "Nine try Munster sweep aside Sale". European Rugby Champions Cup. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "Munster 1st Team Squad Player Profiles : Pat Howard". Munster. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  31. ↑ "Howard heading to Saints" (Press release). Northampton Saints. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
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