Percy Montgomery
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| Percival Montgomery | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Percy Montgomery |
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Percival Colin Montgomery | ||
| Date of birth | March 15, 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Walvis Bay, South Africa (now Walvis Bay, Namibia) |
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| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 89 kg (14 st 0 lb) | ||
| Nickname | Monty | ||
| School | South African College Schools, Cape Town | ||
| College | Cape Peninsula University of Technology | ||
| Occupation(s) | Professional rugby player | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fullback, Outside Centre, Fly-Half | ||
| Clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2003–2005 2003–2005 2007– |
Newport RFC → Dragons Perpignan |
38 | (251) |
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| 1996-2002 2005- |
Western Province Natal Sharks |
? 4 |
(?) (44) |
| Super Rugby | |||
| 1996–2002 2006-2007 |
Stormers Sharks |
? 18 |
(?) (183) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 1997–2001, 2004– | South Africa | 95 | (878) |
Percival Colin "Percy" Montgomery (born 15 March 1974 in Walvis Bay, Cape Province, South Africa (now Walvis Bay, Namibia)) is a rugby union player who currently plays as a fullback for the French Top 14 side Perpignan. He holds the all-time records for both caps and points for South Africa's national team, also known as the Springboks. 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 is regarded as one of the finest goal kickers in the game. Montgomery showed a great deal more maturity and professionalism during his second stint with the Springbok squad under Jake White. This was exemplified in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final, when he was illegally pushed into a cameraman behind the try area by an England player, and impacted the camera at speed.[citation needed] He just shrugged off the pain and continued to play, and later that evening eventually lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy. Despite his shortcomings on the field, Montgomery remains a South African media favourite, and he was nominated for numerous media-adjudicated awards in the South African 2007 season.[citation needed]
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 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 Boks' 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 22nd 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 878 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 95, 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".[1] He consequently missed the 2003 Rugby World Cup and returned to play in Wales in early December 2003.[2]
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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] South African supporters are generally less forgiving.[citation needed]
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 is contracted to play for Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super 14 until 2009. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Wyn Griffiths: "Rugby Union: Montgomery suspended for pushing touch judge." The Independent, London, Jun 4, 2003.
- ^ "Montgomery Returns." European Rugby Cup website, 5 December 2003.
- ^ "WP sign Montgomery."
[edit] External links
- Eamonn Fitzmorris at SARugby.co.za
- Sharks profile
- Percy Montgomery photos & statistics at sporting-heroes.net
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