Enrico Januarie Biography

Enrico Janaurie, who was born in the oldest Cape West coast town, Hopefield, made his provincial debut with the Boland Cavaliers in 2002. He was known as a combative and daring scrumhalf, and Ricky, as he was affectionally known as, had an impressive rugby resume.

While he represented South Africa at senior level, he also wore the Green and Gold at school level and at U19 and U21. In 2002 Enrico Januarie was a member of the U21 IRB Rugby World Cup squad who was victorious in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In 2003, Enrico Januarie made his Super 12 debut for the with the Lions, and he had such an impressive season, that the next year he was the first-choice scrumhalf for the Johannesburg-based outfit.

Enrico Januarie made his International test debut against Uruguay in East Londen during June of 2005. He was also included in the winning 2007 Rugby World Cup squad, although he only made two appearances for the Springboks, against Samoa and Tonga.

During the Tri-Nations (now The Rugby Championship) series in Dunedin in 2008, Enrico Januarie scored the match winning try against New Zealand, where the final score read 30-28 in favour of the Springboks. He managed to run around the ruck and chipped the ball over the opposing fullback to score the try.

In 2009, Enrico Januarie joined Ospreys, the Welsh side in Swansea on a 3-month loan deal for the Heineken Cup. During this year, he also transferred to the Cape Town based Stormers side. Nationally, Enrico Januarie was included in the squad which would host the British and Irish Lions to South Africa. He only played during the first test match and came on as a replacement player.

Enrico Januarie was a regular for the Stormers in the 2011 Super Rugby season, but unfortunately missed out on his team’s semi-final due to a hand injury. In June of that year, he announced that he will be joining the Top 14 French side, Lyon. Enrico Januarie also announced his retirement from Springbok rugby. He had 47 caps in the Green and Gold.

In 2008, Enrico Janaurie was caught for drunk driving on the night of his bachelor’s party. He appeared in court on charges of driving under the influence. The case was withdrawn after they made a deal which included community service of 20 hours. Enrico Januarie admitted that his rugby was negatively affected by this in 2009.