Tim Whitehead (rugby union)

Tim Whitehead
Personal information
Full nameTimothy John Whitehead
Born30 May 1988
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
School(s) attendedGrey High School, Port Elizabeth
UniversityUniversity of Cape Town
Club information
Playing positionCentre
Current clubEastern Province Kings
Youth career
2008–09Western Province
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeam
2008UCT Ikey Tigers11(20)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Pts)
2010–11Western Province23(10)
2010Stormers10(0)
2012Sharks15(5)
2012–14Natal Sharks14(5)
2014–Eastern Province Kings11(20)
Representative team(s)
2009S.A. Students()
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Points).

‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 26 March 2014.

Timothy John Whitehead (born 30 May 1988 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Eastern Province Kings.[1] His regular position is centre.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

Whitehead played for Varsity Cup side UCT Ikey Tigers in the 2008, 2010, 2011 editions of the competition. He made eleven appearances in this competition during the three seasons, helping Ikeys win the title in 2011 by beating UP Tuks in Pretoria.[2]

He also played for the Western Province U21 side in the Under-21 Currie Cup competitions in 2008 and 2009.

Western Province / Stormers

His first class debut came in the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition when he came on as a substitute for Western Province in their match against the Boland Cavaliers in Bredasdorp.[3] His first start came a week later in their home match against the Sharks XV.[4]

After one more start in the Vodacom Cup that season, Whitehead was drafted into the Stormers squad for the 2010 Super 14 season. He made his Super Rugby debut on 20 March 2010 against the Cheetahs in Cape Town.[5] He made a further two starts and seven substitute appearances during the remainder of the season.

He also made his debut in the Currie Cup in the same season. He started against the Free State Cheetahs,[6] one of six matches he started that season.

He fell out of Super Rugby contention in 2011, but made another six appearances in the 2011 Vodacom Cup competition and seven in the 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division.

Sharks / Natal Sharks

At the end of 2011, Whitehead moved to Durban to join the Natal Sharks.[7] He started fifteen of the Sharks' matches during the 2012 Super Rugby season – also scoring his first Super Rugby try against the Blues in Auckland[8] – and a further seven appearances in the 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division.

Whitehead missed the entire 2013 Super Rugby season with a broken arm sustained in a pre-season match against the Leopards,[9] but returned in the latter half of the year to help the Natal Sharks win the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division.

With new head coach Jake White taking over at the Sharks, Whitehead was a surprise omission from the squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season, being relegated to the Vodacom Cup squad instead.[10]

Eastern Province Kings

He joined Port Elizabeth-based side Eastern Province Kings prior to the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division season.[11]

External links

References

  1. "SARU Player Profile Tim Whitehead". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  2. "Match Breakdown: Tuks vs UCT". South African Rugby Union. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  3. "Match Breakdown: Boland Kavaliers vs Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  4. "Match Breakdown: Western Province vs Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  5. "Match Breakdown: Vodacom Stormers vs Vodacom Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. "Match Breakdown: Vodacom Free State Cheetahs vs Vodacom Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  7. "Whitehead left WP frustrated". Sport24. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  8. "Match Breakdown: Blues vs Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  9. "Double injury blow for Sharks". Sport24. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  10. "Shark coach White still prefers to think big". Business Day. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  11. "Kings land 'big' Shark". Rugby365. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.