SP Marais

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SP Marais
Full nameSarel Petrus Marais
Date of birth (1989-03-16) 16 March 1989 (age 35)
Place of birthParow, Cape Province, South Africa
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb)
SchoolPaarl Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Current team Canon Eagles
Youth career
2008 Boland Cavaliers
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010 NWU Pukke 4 (10)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010 Leopards 2 (17)
2011–2013 Eastern Province Kings 36 (98)
2013 Southern Kings 10 (0)
2013–2015 Sharks (Currie Cup) 24 (41)
2014–2015 Sharks 27 (8)
2016 Bulls 11 (10)
2017–2019 Stormers 29 (178)
2017–2019 Western Province 16 (207)
2020– Canon Eagles 5 (15)
Correct as of 20 February 2020
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 South African Kings 3 (0)
Correct as of 18 April 2018

Sarel Petrus Marais (born 16 March 1989) is a South African professional rugby union player for the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup.[1] His position he plays is Fullback.

Career[edit]

Youth and Varsity rugby[edit]

Marais played for the Boland Cavaliers in youth competitions and was part of the 2009 Vodacom Cup squad, without making a senior appearance. He then moved to Potchefstroom in 2010, where he played four matches for the NWU Pukke in the 2010 Varsity Cup competition.

Marais also played for the Leopards U21 team during the 2010 Under-21 competition.

Leopards[edit]

Although Marais didn't play any games for the Leopards during the 2010 Currie Cup season, he made his first class debut in the Leopards' first relegation play-off match against the SWD Eagles, scoring his first try within a minute of his debut when he came on as a first-half blood replacement and a second try right before the end of the match.[2] He maintained his try-scoring exploits in the following match, scoring another try in the return leg[3] to help keep the Leopards in the 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division.

Kings[edit]

It was then announced that he moved to the Eastern Province Kings for the 2011 Currie Cup First Division season.[4] He remained with them for three seasons, making 36 appearances for them in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions in 2011 and 2012. He reached the top ten in the scoring charts for the 2011 Currie Cup First Division, scoring ten tries and two conversions during the season.[5] He firmly established himself as the first choice full-back, starting fifteen of their sixteen matches in the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season and also started their match in the First Division final, which the Kings won 26–25 to win their second First Division title in three seasons.[6]

In 2013, Marais was also named in the Southern Kings squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Kings in their first ever Super Rugby match, a 22–10 victory over Australian side the Force in Port Elizabeth.[7] After starting the first three matches of the season, he missed the next seven due to a knee injury.[8] He returned to make a further five appearances, as well as playing in both legs of the Kings' Super Rugby promotion/relegation play-offs against the Lions,[9][10] which saw the Kings lose their Super Rugby status.

Sharks[edit]

Marais joined the exodus of players leaving the Kings after their defeat to the Lions, joining Durban-based side the Sharks for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.[11] He made his debut in their second match of the season against the Golden Lions[12] and immediately established himself as their first-choice full-back, starting all the remaining games of the season, scoring four tries. He was also in the starting fifteen for the Currie Cup final, which the Sharks won 33–19 against Western Province.[13]

Marais was included in the Sharks squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season[14] and made his Sharks Super Rugby debut in a 31–16 victory against the Bulls in Durban.[15][16]

Return to Kings[edit]

At the end of 2015, Marais was one of a number of players that joined the Southern Kings prior to their return to Super Rugby for the 2016 season.[17] However, the Eastern Province Kings – the provincial union that was supposed to administer the Super Rugby team – suffered serious financial problems and the South African Rugby Union stepped in to assist the Super Rugby franchise;[18] however, Marais was not one of the players contracted by SARU to represent the Southern Kings.[19] After being unpaid for several months, he was one of eighteen players involved in submitting an application to get Eastern Province Rugby liquidated in an attempt to recoup unpaid salary payments.[20]

Bulls[edit]

Shortly after the 2016 Super Rugby season kicked off, Marais joined the Pretoria-based Bulls on a two-month trial basis.[21] He made his Bulls debut by replacing Burger Odendaal during their 23–18 win against the Cheetahs in Round Six.[22] He was named in their starting line-up for their next match, against Marais' former side the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.[23]

Stormers / Western Province[edit]

At the start of 2017, Marais moved to Cape Town, where he joined the Stormers Super Rugby team and the Western Province Currie Cup team.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – SP Marais". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 37–22 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 32–28 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. ^ "EP Kings beef up ranks for new season". epherald.co.za. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2011 ABSA Currie Cup First Div". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province Kings 26–25 Ford Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Southern Kings 22–10 Force". South African Rugby Union. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. ^ "SWD-held pak dalk Crusaders". Media24 (in Afrikaans). Die Burger. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Southern Kings 19–26 MTN Lions". South African Rugby Union. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – MTN Lions 18–23 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Sharks snap up Kings' Marais". Planet Rugby. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – The Sharks 33–25 MTN Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 19–33 The Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Sharks 2014 squad" (Press release). Sharks. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Match Centre: Sharks v Bulls". SANZAR. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Cell C Sharks 31–16 Vodacom Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  17. ^ "EP Rugby Statement". Rugby15. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  18. ^ "SARU steps in to assist the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Southern Kings announce first signings" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Plight of EP players revealed". SA Rugby Magazine. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  21. ^ "Three stars extend Vodacom Bulls contracts" (Press release). Bulls. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  22. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Bulls 23–18 Toyota Cheetahs". South African Rugby Union. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  23. ^ "Marais to start for Vodacom Bulls" (Press release). Bulls. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Five new faces at DHL Newlands this season" (Press release). Stormers. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
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