Jimmy Cowan
Encyclopedia
Quinton James Cowan is a New Zealand rugby union
footballer. He has been an All Black since 2004 where he made his debut during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and France. Cowan was born in Gore
and attended Gore High School
. After he left school a strong season for the Mataura Rugby Club saw him selected for the Southland Stags in 2000.
competition, Cowan received an All Black call-up for the 2004 end of year tour after becoming the youngest Southlander to bring up 50 games for the province at the age of 22.
After missing out on the All Blacks squad to play the British and Irish Lions
in 2005, he returned to the Stags where they came close to beating the Lions with only two Gavin Henson
tries the difference. Once again he was a standout in the NPC
resulting in a recall to the All Blacks for the end of year tour. Cowan missed much of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup
with All Blacks Tri Nations
campaign before being dropped by the end of 2006. In 2007 after missing out once again on the All Blacks Cowan made a strong impression for the Stags helping them to reach the quarter final stages.
Since 2008, Cowan has played very few games due to being the All Blacks starting No. 9. He has played 93 games for Southland since his debut in 2000 and is expected to become the Stags 12th centurion in future years.
He missed out on the Stags first successful Ranfurly Shield
challenge in 51 years against Canterbury where his brother Scott took his place as halfback. Cowan was still a part of the win as a water carrier.
. He was mentored by Danny Lee All Blacks
Halfback
Byron Kelleher
, who at the end of the season departed Otago and the Highlanders to play for Waikato
and the Chiefs
, leaving Cowan and Ben Hurst to battle for the starting role.
Cowan started a majority of the 2004 Super 12 season
and at the end of the season became an All Black. When Tony Brown left the Highlanders in 2005
, Cowan became a senior figure in an inexperienced backline and was recognised for his influence in the Highlanders side and good form with the New Zealand Super 14 Player of the Year Award. By the end of the season he had started to form a effective combination with Nick Evans. The combination was a positive in the Highlanders poor start to the Super 14
competition. When Evans returned to the Blues in 2008, Cowan was left once again with an starless, inexperienced backline.
Over the next three years Cowan was a feature in a poor Highlanders side becoming captain in 2009 but with the addition of All Black Colin Slade
, New Zealand Māori player Jarrad Hoeata and strong provincial players such as Aaron Smith, Nick Crosswell and Sean Treeby, Cowans job as captain will be made much easier in 2011 as he looks to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
.
He has played 74 games for the Highlanders since 2003, with 26 as captain.
, coming on as a substitute. In his first test he performed admirably with a probing running game, accurate passing and stout defence marking his performance. His first game as part of the starting line-up was against the Barbarians in 2004.
He once again was selected on the 2005 End of Year Tour and came on as a substitute in three test matches against Wales
, Ireland
and Scotland
.
Cowan was one of the 3 halfbacks being used by the All Blacks for the 2006 Tri Nations Series
. He wasn't required for the 2006 end of year tour to Europe, and was not included in the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad.
After a series of drinking offences Cowan came within inches of having his NZRU contract being torn up, but the Southlander chose to give up drinking and in an amazing turnaround an injury to Andy Ellis allowed him to become starting half back for the All Blacks, with Piri Weepu
covering from the bench.
In 2010 Cowan spearheaded the All Black recovery from a poor 2009 Tri Nations. The All Blacks won every game with Cowan playing his best after recovering from a rib injury. He also played in the 2010 Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Test game in Hong Kong, scoring a try for the All Blacks. injury.
He has played 43 games for the All Blacks with 41 tests.
but was named in the Junior All Blacks
for the Pacific Nations Cup.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. He has been an All Black since 2004 where he made his debut during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and France. Cowan was born in Gore
Gore, New Zealand
Gore is a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:The Gore District has a land area of 1,251.62 km² and a resident population of...
and attended Gore High School
Gore High School
Gore High School is one of two secondary schools in Gore, New Zealand. It is located on Coutts Road in the west of Gore.-Famous ex-pupils:*Aaron Barclay - 2010 Youth Olympics Gold Medalist*Jimmy Cowan - All Black*Justin Marshall - former All Black...
. After he left school a strong season for the Mataura Rugby Club saw him selected for the Southland Stags in 2000.
Southland
Cowan debuted for the Stags in 2000 at the age of 18. He was quickly recognised as a standout in a weak Stags side and after a good season in 2002, he received a call-up to the Highlanders super rugby franchise. His form with the Southland side benefited from his experience at a higher level of rugby and the Stags back line continued to improve. In 2004, after a great National Provincial ChampionshipNational Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...
competition, Cowan received an All Black call-up for the 2004 end of year tour after becoming the youngest Southlander to bring up 50 games for the province at the age of 22.
After missing out on the All Blacks squad to play the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in 2005, he returned to the Stags where they came close to beating the Lions with only two Gavin Henson
Gavin Henson
Gavin Lloyd Henson is a Welsh rugby union player, born in Pencoed, South Wales, currently playing for Cardiff Blues.He attracted much media attention as part of a Wales national team which achieved Grand Slams in the Six Nations Championship in 2005 and 2008...
tries the difference. Once again he was a standout in the NPC
National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...
resulting in a recall to the All Blacks for the end of year tour. Cowan missed much of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup
2006 Air New Zealand Cup
The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup is a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Friday 28 July 2006, and the Grand Final was won by Waikato on 21 October 2006....
with All Blacks Tri Nations
Tri Nations
Tri Nations may refer to:In Rugby union:* Tri Nations , the former name of The Rugby Championship a competition featuring Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa* Pacific Tri-Nations, the series between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga...
campaign before being dropped by the end of 2006. In 2007 after missing out once again on the All Blacks Cowan made a strong impression for the Stags helping them to reach the quarter final stages.
Since 2008, Cowan has played very few games due to being the All Blacks starting No. 9. He has played 93 games for Southland since his debut in 2000 and is expected to become the Stags 12th centurion in future years.
He missed out on the Stags first successful Ranfurly Shield
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...
challenge in 51 years against Canterbury where his brother Scott took his place as halfback. Cowan was still a part of the win as a water carrier.
Highlanders
After a strong 2002 NPC, Cowan was selected for the Highlanders for the 2003 Super 12 season2003 Super 12 season
The 2003 Super 12 season was the eighth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2003, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi...
. He was mentored by Danny Lee All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
Halfback
Rugby union positions
In the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...
Byron Kelleher
Byron Kelleher
Byron Terrance Kelleher is a rugby union half-back who currently plays for Stade Francais in the French Top 14 competition, and has played over 57 tests with the New Zealand All Blacks...
, who at the end of the season departed Otago and the Highlanders to play for Waikato
Waikato Rugby Union
The Waikato Rugby Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Its senior representative team competes in the ITM Cup , and won the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup in 2006.Waikato Rugby Union was founded in 1921...
and the Chiefs
Chiefs (Super rugby franchise)
The Chiefs are a professional Rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys...
, leaving Cowan and Ben Hurst to battle for the starting role.
Cowan started a majority of the 2004 Super 12 season
2004 Super 12 season
The 2004 Super 12 season was the ninth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2004, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi finals,...
and at the end of the season became an All Black. When Tony Brown left the Highlanders in 2005
2005 Super 12 season
The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi finals,...
, Cowan became a senior figure in an inexperienced backline and was recognised for his influence in the Highlanders side and good form with the New Zealand Super 14 Player of the Year Award. By the end of the season he had started to form a effective combination with Nick Evans. The combination was a positive in the Highlanders poor start to the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
competition. When Evans returned to the Blues in 2008, Cowan was left once again with an starless, inexperienced backline.
Over the next three years Cowan was a feature in a poor Highlanders side becoming captain in 2009 but with the addition of All Black Colin Slade
Colin Slade
Colin Slade is a rugby union footballer who represents the Highlanders in the Super 15 competition and Canterbury in the ITM Cup, playing at primarily at Fly Half, as well as all other backline positions on occasions...
, New Zealand Māori player Jarrad Hoeata and strong provincial players such as Aaron Smith, Nick Crosswell and Sean Treeby, Cowans job as captain will be made much easier in 2011 as he looks to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
He has played 74 games for the Highlanders since 2003, with 26 as captain.
All Blacks
Cowan made his All Black debut age 22, versus ItalyItaly national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
, coming on as a substitute. In his first test he performed admirably with a probing running game, accurate passing and stout defence marking his performance. His first game as part of the starting line-up was against the Barbarians in 2004.
He once again was selected on the 2005 End of Year Tour and came on as a substitute in three test matches against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
.
Cowan was one of the 3 halfbacks being used by the All Blacks for the 2006 Tri Nations Series
2006 Tri Nations Series
-Week 2:-Week 3:-Week 4:* All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup-Week 5:-Week 6:-Week 7:-Week 8:-Week 9:-External links:* * *...
. He wasn't required for the 2006 end of year tour to Europe, and was not included in the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad.
After a series of drinking offences Cowan came within inches of having his NZRU contract being torn up, but the Southlander chose to give up drinking and in an amazing turnaround an injury to Andy Ellis allowed him to become starting half back for the All Blacks, with Piri Weepu
Piri Weepu
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays scrum-half for the All Blacks on international level, Wellington Lions in the National Provincial Championship and the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004...
covering from the bench.
In 2010 Cowan spearheaded the All Black recovery from a poor 2009 Tri Nations. The All Blacks won every game with Cowan playing his best after recovering from a rib injury. He also played in the 2010 Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Test game in Hong Kong, scoring a try for the All Blacks. injury.
He has played 43 games for the All Blacks with 41 tests.
Junior All Blacks
On 18 May 2007, Cowan missed out on selection for the All BlacksAll Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
but was named in the Junior All Blacks
Junior All Blacks
The Junior All Blacks are a New Zealand rugby union team. The Junior All Blacks are not an age grade side, but the second national team behind the New Zealand national rugby union team....
for the Pacific Nations Cup.