| Full name | Kyle Gie Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1987-02-06)6 February 1987 (age 38) Cape Town, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | South African College Schools, Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kyle Gie Brown (born 6 February 1987) is a South Africanrugby union player, currently playing with theSouth African Sevens team.[1]He was the captain of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the2016 Summer Olympics.
He played some youth rugby forWellington-based sideBoland Cavaliers at Under-19 level in 2006 and at Under-21 level in 2007. In 2008, he returned toCape Town to play in theinauguralVarsity Cup competition, making seven appearances as his side theUCT Ikey Tigers reached the final of the competition, where they were beaten 16–10 by fellowWestern Cape universityMaties.[2] He was also included in theWestern Province U21 side that played in the 2008 Under-21 Provincial Championship.
At the end of 2008, Brown was included in theSouth African Sevens squad for the2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series. He made his debut at the2008 Dubai Sevens and played every leg of the series, as South Africa won the series for the first time at their tenth attempt. He also played in the2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens competition, helping South Africa to the quarter-finals, where they lost toArgentina. He alsowon a bronze medal with the side at the2009 World Games inKaohsiung,Republic of China (Taiwan).
He became a key member of the sevens side over the next few years, appearing in the majority of tournaments inIRB Sevens World Series, although he did miss most of the2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series through injury. He returned in time for the2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, but the Blitzbokke once again lost in the quarter-finals of the competition, this time toFiji. However, they made some amends by winning gold medals at2013 World Games inCali,Colombia shortly afterwards.
He played in seven further legs of the2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series and then captained the squad that played at the2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, helping his side all the way to the final, where they got a 17–12 victory over aNew Zealand that won the previous four tournaments.[3]
Kyle Brown was named captain of a 12-man squad for the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[4] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Group B of the competition againstSpain, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.[5][6] He started their second match againstFrance, scoring one of South Africa's four tries in a 26–0 victory,[7][8] and dropped to the bench for their final match againstAustralia. Despite a 5–12 defeat in this match,[9][10] South Africa still finished top ofPool B to set up a quarter final rematch against Australia. Brown was restored to the starting line-up for this match and scored one of South Africa's tries in a 22–5 victory.[11][12] He started South Africa's semi-final match againstGreat Britain and scored South Africa's only points of a 5–7 defeat, which saw his side eliminated from gold medal contention.[13][14] He also started theirthird-place play-off, helping his side to a 54–14 victory overJapan[15][16] to secure a bronze medal in theOlympic Games.
