Louis Johannes Koen (born 7 July 1975 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a South-African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, until 2003, when he moved abroad following the World Cup.
Full name | Louis Johannes Koen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 7 July 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 13 st 6 lb (188 lb; 85 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Paarl Gymnasium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Stellenbosch University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Effective at either fly half or full back, his career began with Western Province, before his move to the Lions and later the Bulls. He was part of the Western Province team that won the Currie Cup in 1997, contributing immensely with his accurate goal kicking. It was this dependable boot that led to his recall to the Springbok team in 2003 after a two-year absence, but following a difficult tournament[1] and South Africa's disappointing exit in the quarter-finals, Koen was signed by Narbonne in France. After two years dogged by injury, Koen moved back to Western Province as only the second full-time kicking coach in South Africa.[2] In 2010 he was recalled out of retirement to play one Currie Cup First Division match for the Boland Cavaliers against the Valke.
Career
editProvincial
edit- Lions (South Africa) – 28 caps
- Western Province (South Africa) – 46 caps
- Boland Cavaliers – 1 cap
Super Rugby
edit- Stormers (South Africa) – 12 caps (86 points- 2 tries, 20 conversions, 11 penalty goals, 1 drop goal)
- Cats (South Africa) – 28 caps (330 points- 3 tries, 42 conversions, 74 penalty goals, 3 drop goals)
- Bulls (South Africa) – 11 caps (139 points- 17 conversions, 28 penalty goals, 7 drop goals)
Club
editNational team
editHe made his debut for South Africa against Australia on 8 July 2000.
He played four matches in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. During the game between South Africa and Samoa, as Koen prepared to take a conversion, a drunk rugby fan ran onto the field and attempted to tackle Koen, knocking himself out. Koen succeeded with the conversion.[3]
Achievements
editWith the Springboks
edit(as of 31 December 2005)
- 15 caps
- 0 tries, 23 conversions, 31 penalties, 2 drops
- 145 points
- Selections per season : 1 in 2000, 3 in 2001, 11 in 2003.
- Participation at the World Cup 2003 (4 matches).
With club and province
edit- Scored 577 points for Western Province (46 matches, 11 tries, 123 conversions, 92 penalty goals) (1996–99)
- Scored 391 points for Lions (28 matches, 5 tries, 87 conversions, 60 penalty goals, 4 drop goals) (2000–02)
- Scored 12 points for Boland Cavaliers (1 match, 3 conversions, 2 penalty goals) (2010)
Coaching
editIn February 2022, Koen, then the South African Rugby Union's high-performance manager, was appointed to assist Heyneke Meyer with the Houston SaberCats.[4]
In March 2023, Koen was appointed interim coach of the South Africa women's national rugby union team.[5]
References
edit- ^ Baldock, Andrew (30 October 2003). "Koen pays the price". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Granger, Dale (17 June 2005). "Louis Koen comes home - just for kicks". PlanetRugby.
- ^ "Fan attempts tackle on player, knocks himself out - Rugbydump". rugbydump.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Compiled by Craig. "Former Bok 'on loan' to Heyneke Meyer's Houston SaberCats from SA Rugby". News24. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Skippers, David (8 March 2023). "South Africa: Louis Koen appointed as interim Springbok Women's coach". PlanetRugby. Retrieved 30 September 2023.