Rosko Specman
Rosko Shane Specman [note 1] (born 28 April 1989) is a South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge.[1] He played rugby sevens for the South Africa national rugby sevens team between 2014 and 2018 and also played Currie Cup rugby with the Sharks from 2010 to 2012, the Pumas from 2013 to 2015 and the Free State Cheetahs in 2017. His usual position is winger.
Specman was a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Rugby career
[edit | edit source]Youth
[edit | edit source]At youth level, Specman played at the 2007 U18 Academy Week for Eastern Province Country Districts and then for the Mighty Elephants (now Eastern Province Kings) U19 team in the 2008 U19 Currie Cup competition.
Vodacom Cup
[edit | edit source]In 2009, Specman moved to the Sharks, where he played in their U19 team. He made his debut for the Sharks in the 2010 Vodacom Cup quarter final game against Griquas.[5] He was a first choice player in the U21 team that year, scoring three tries. The following season, he scored four tries in five appearances in the 2011 Vodacom Cup and made another five appearances in the 2012 Vodacom Cup.
Specman joined the Pumas for the 2013 season.[6] He was a member of the Pumas side that won the Vodacom Cup for the first time in 2015, beating Western Province 24–7 in the final.[7] His only appearance during the season came in the final after returning from South Africa Sevens duty.[8]
Representative rugby
[edit | edit source]In 2013, Specman was included in a South Africa President's XV team that played in the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup[9] and won the tournament after winning all three matches.[10]
Specman was also called into a South Africa Sevens training squad in 2013[11] and was included in the Sevens squad for the USA leg of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series.[12] Specman was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[13] He was named as a substitute for their first match in Group B of the competition against Spain, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.[14][15]
He competed for South Africa at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[16][17] They defeated Australia to win the bronze medal final.[18][19]
Cheetahs
[edit | edit source]Along with sevens teammates Cecil Afrika and Chris Dry, Specman announced that he was joining the Cheetahs beginning in 2017. He scored his first Pro14 try at home in October 2017 against the Glasgow Warriors.[20]
Bulls
[edit | edit source]On 10 October 2018, it was announced that Specman would join the Bulls in Super Rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup from 2019, following the completion of his commitments with the South Africa national rugby sevens team.[21]
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ There are different spellings of Specman's name in use. The South African Rugby Union website lists his name as Rosko Specman,[1] which is also used during television coverage, but several other website lists his name as Rosco Speckman. Both variants yield several search results from reliable sources.[2][3] Although an interview in 2016 suggested that his preferred spelling of his name is Roscko Speckman,[4] the player confirmed in July 2017 via Twitter that the correct spelling is Rosko Specman.Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Rosko Specman at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series (archived)Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Rosko Specman at ESPNscrum (archived)Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Rosko Specman at ItsRugby.co.ukLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Rosko Specman at Olympics.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Rosko Specman at OlympediaLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- South African rugby union players
- Living people
- 1989 births
- Rugby union wings
- Sharks (rugby union) players
- Pumas (Currie Cup) players
- Rugby union players from Makhanda, Eastern Cape
- South Africa international rugby sevens players
- Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Olympic rugby sevens players for South Africa
- Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa
- Olympic medalists in rugby sevens
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Rugby sevens players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- South Africa international rugby union players
- Cheetahs (rugby union) players
- Bulls (rugby union) players
- Stormers players
- Alumni of Kingswood College (South Africa)
- Griquas (rugby union) players
- Rugby sevens players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- 21st-century South African sportsmen