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Takudzwa Ngwenya

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Takudzwa Ngwenya (born 22 July 1985) is a former rugby union player who played on the wing for the United States national rugby union team and Biarritz Olympique in the Top 14. He made his mark in the 2007 Rugby World Cup with tries against South Africa[1] and Samoa.

Takudzwa Ngwenya
Date of birth (1985-07-22) 22 July 1985 (age 39)
Place of birthHarare, Zimbabwe
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight187 lb (13 st 5 lb; 85 kg)
SchoolVainona High School
UniversityBrookhaven College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2016
2016
2016–2018
2018		 Biarritz Olympique
San Diego Breakers
CA Brive
San Diego Legion		 239
6
26
8		 (430)
(10)
(35)
(5)
Correct as of 17 February 2018
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2016 United States 36 (65)
Correct as of 19 June 2016
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
2006–2009 United States 5

Early career

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Ngwenya was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. The oldest of three boys, Ngwenya first played rugby in Zimbabwe for the Mashonaland Club and for Vainona High School, from which he graduated in 2003. After moving to the United States, he played for the Plano Rugby Club in Plano, Texas and went on to play for the Dallas Athletic Rugby Club for a few years. He was clocked at 10.5 [1] hand time for the 100 m dash. DARC Rugby sent him to play for the Texas Select Side and the USA Under 19 national team, then the national Sevens team that came first in Bangkok and the 2007 North America 4.

Professional career

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Ngwenya was offered a one-month trial at Saracens in England's Guinness Premiership by new coach Eddie Jones. However, he got a considerably better offer from Biarritz in France's Top 14, initially signing a two-year contract with them on 6 November 2007. [2] Between 2007 and 2016 Ngwenya played regularly for Biarritz, as a winger. Ngwenya scored 2 tries in the 2007-08 Heineken Cup. In the 2009–10 Heineken Cup he helped the club make their first final since the 2006. He scored 6 tries in the competition which placed him as joint second top try scorer. [3] Ngwenya also had a stellar year in the 2009–10 Top 14 season, starting in 21 games and winning 7 tries.[3] In the 2010–11 Heineken Cup Ngwenya scored 5 tries, again tying for second. During the 2011–12 Top 14 season Ngwenya collected five tries in the Top 14 and added 4 more in the Heineken Cup[4] Ngwenya scored for Biarritz seven times in all competitions during both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons.[3]

 
Ngwenya playing for Biarritz in 2013

After a season with the San Diego Breakers in the inaugural PRO Rugby season Ngwenya headed back to France and the Top 14 after signing with CA Brive.[5]

Club statistics

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As of matches played 4 May 2021.[3]
Club statistics
Club Season League Heineken Cup Amlin Challenge Cup Other Total
Division Apps Tries Apps Tries Apps Tries Apps Tries Apps Tries
Biarritz Olympique 2007–08 Top 14 19 8 3 2 0 0 — 22 10
Biarritz Olympique 2008–09 Top 14 21 10 6 0 0 0 — 27 10
Biarritz Olympique 2009–10 Top 14 21 7 8 6 0 0 — 29 13
Biarritz Olympique 2010–11 Top 14 25 9 7 5 0 0 — 32 14
Biarritz Olympique 2011–12 Top 14 19 5 6 4 3 0 — 28 9
Biarritz Olympique 2012–13 Top 14 26 6 5 1 2 0 — 33 7
Biarritz Olympique 2013–14 Top 14 21 5 0 0 5 2 — 26 7
Biarritz Olympique 2014–15 Pro D2 21 7 0 0 0 0 — 21 7
Biarritz Olympique 2015–16 Pro D2 21 9 0 0 0 0 — 21 9
San Diego Breakers 2016 PRO Rugby 6 2 0 0 0 0 — 6 2
CA Brive 2016–17 Top 14 13 2 0 0 7 5 — 20 7
CA Brive 2017–18 Top 14 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 0
San Diego Legion 2018 Major League Rugby 8 1 0 0 0 0 — 8 1
Total 215 69 35 18 10 2 279 96

International tries

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This list is complete and up to date as of December 2018.
Try Opposing team Venue Competition Date Result Score Ref.
1   Samoa Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne 2007 Rugby World Cup 26 September 2007 Lost 21–25 [6]
2   South Africa Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier 2007 Rugby World Cup 30 September 2007 Lost 15–64 [7]
3   Uruguay Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy Test match 8 November 2008 Won 43–9 [8]
4   Japan Mizuho Rugby Stadium, Nagoya Test match 16 November 2008 Lost 19–29 [9]
5   Japan Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo Test match 22 November 2008 Lost 17–32 [10]
6   Russia Infinity Park, Glendale 2010 Churchill Cup 5 June 2010 Won 39–22 [11]
7   Portugal Estádio Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon Test match 13 November 2010 Won 22–17 [12]
8   Canada BMO Field, Toronto Test match 6 August 2011 Lost 22–28 [13]
9   Romania Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest Test match 24 November 2012 Won 34–3 [14]
10   Canada BMO Field, Toronto 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier 24 August 2013 Lost 11–13 [15]
11   Romania Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest Test match 8 November 2014 Won 27–17 [16]
12   Fiji Stade de la Rabine, Vannes Test match 21 November 2014 Lost 14–20 [17]
13   Japan Kingsholm, Gloucester 2015 Rugby World Cup 11 October 2015 Lost 18–28 [18]
14   Argentina XV BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston 2016 Americas Rugby Championship 6 February 2016 Draw 35–35 [19]

References

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  1. ^ "Rugby World Cup Match Report, South Africa 64 USA 15. BBC News online, 30 September 2007.
  2. ^ "Takudzwa Ngwenya pour deux ans à Biarritz" (in French). Biarritz Olympique. 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "Rugby - Player statistics Ngwenya Takudzwa - club stats".
  4. ^ "Eagles Abroad: Season in Review, Part One". Archived from the original on 8 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Taku Ngwenya Headed To Brive". TIAR. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Rugby World Cup, Pool A - Saint-Etienne, 26 September 2007, 20:00 local, 18:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Rugby World Cup, Pool A - Montpellier, 30 September 2007, 20:00 local, 18:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Uruguay Tour - Sandy, 8 November 2008, 16:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  9. ^ "United States of America Tour - Nagoya, 16 November 2008, 15:00 local, 06:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. ^ "United States of America Tour - Tokyo, 22 November 2008, 19:00 local, 10:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Churchill Cup, Pool B - Glendale, 5 June 2010, 15:30 local, 21:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. ^ "United States of America Tour - Lisbon, 13 November 2010, 15:00 local, 15:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  13. ^ "United States of America Tour - Toronto, 6 August 2011, 14:00 local, 21:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  14. ^ "United States of America Tour - Bucharest, 24 November 2012, 16:00 local, 14:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  15. ^ "2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier - Toronto, 24 August 2013, 16:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  16. ^ "United States of America Tour - Bucharest, 8 November 2014, 18:30 local, 16:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Fiji Tour - Vannes, 21 November 2014, 19:00 local, 18:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Rugby World Cup, Pool B - Gloucester, 11 October 2015, 20:00 local, 19:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Americas Rugby Championship - Houston, 6 February 2016, 19:10 local, 03:10 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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