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Ryan Kankowski was born on the 14th of October 1985. He is the son of former Springbok Tino Kankowski who played as a winger for the Eastern Province with whom he faced the British & Irish Lions in 1980 and till today claims he can outrun his son.
In 2004 he was selected for the KZN squad for the ABSA U20 Competition and the U21 Competition a year later. Soon afterwards he made his debut in the Vodacom Cup of 2006 when he came on as a substitute for Dusty Noble in the 64th minute against the Mighty Elephants on the 28th of April. The Natal side won 20-71 with 11 tries of which Kankowski prepared 2.
The 2006 Currie Cup, the breakthrough
His star was really rising in that year. He came on as a substitute against te Lions in Durban. Wikus van Heerden was on his way to score a try for the Lions and he had already crossed the tryline when Kankowski managed to dislodge the ball and prevent the Lions from having a chance to still win and would have given the Lions a second bonus point. Oddly enough, at the end of the season, the Sharks were in 4th place, only 2 points above the Lions.
A week later he again came on as a substitute. It was the first time that people on TV saw his intercept-skills. He intercepted a line-out which almost led to a try. Where have we seen that before?
Ohw yes.
Kanko's first chance in the starting line-up was in week 3 of the 2006 Currie Cup. He started in his favourite position of 8-man. While the Sharks went on to win 34-16, Kankowski impressed the fans and the coaching staff.
When the Sharks travelled to Witbank to play the Pumas, it was a big day for Kanko. Again getting the chance to start, he didn't disappoint with a brilliant performance including his first Currie Cup try. After Gcobani Bobo took the Sharks ahead, Kankowski scored the second try of the Sharks and it was the first one of many, many more.
2 weeks later Kankowski scored his second try of the season in Pretoria, against a fierce Bulls side. By then the Sharks were 50-27 behind with only 6 minutes to go. Kankowski's try was the fourth which gave them a bonus point. Highlight of this match however was the clash between Kankowski and his later rival Pierre Spies
In week 13, close to the end, Kankowski added another 2 in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs who, despite that, beat the Sharks 37-35, before scoring his final try of the season against the Falcons in the last game of the regular season.
In 2007 Kankowski played for the Emerging Springboks at the IRB Nations Cup but didn't play. The 2007 Super 14 season was the moment everybody outside South Africa got to know Ryan. After a season in which he started out as a sub, he forced himself into the starting line-up and in the Sharks' most succesful season in super Rugby history, he scored his first try in the final round of the regular season against the Stormers. It was the first of 5 tries in total for the Natal side, which got them to the top of the log for a home semi-final against the Blues from Auckland.
In the final of 2007, he was starting but the Sharks lost due to a last minute try by Bryan Habana which was converted by Derick Hougaard, who gave the Bulls a 1 point lead after the siren.
Missing Super 14 ***le and the World Cup
When Pierre Spies had to stay home injured, eyes were focussed on Kankowski. Would he be the replacement? In the build up to the tournament there has been the Luke Watson controversy which didn't help Kankowski. Danie Rossouw and Bob Skinstead ended up travelling to France for his position to win the trophy. Kankowski's chance came after the World Cup. Kankowski got the chance to start and played the full 80 minutes in Cardiff against the Welsh team. Kankowski scored his first try in this match as well. It was the start of something beautiful.
After his succesful debut in the green and gold and a second match against the Barbarians, he joined the Sharks for a Super14 season that was all about revenge. On the 1st of march, the chance for revenge was at hand and the Sharks travelled to Pretoria to face the Bulls. without even conceding a try, and scoring 4 tries themselves, the Sharks won 15-29. In the 2008 season he went on to score 5 tries in total and was voted Vodacom player of the tournament, A huge performance by the then 22-year old. The Sharks were the only South African team to make the play offs but lost to the Waratahs.
In the Currie Cup that year, the Sharks were immensely succesful, winning the ***le, and losing only 2 matches in the process. First a 35-13 loss against the Bulls and later a loss in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs (31-9). The Bulls were eventually defeated in the final by 2 tries from Pienaar and Steyn. The Currie Cup win was the medicine the Durban side needed to recover from that tragic day back in 2007.
In 2009 the Sharks missed the play offs by 1 point, losing in the final match of the regular season to... You guessed it, the Bulls. 26-27 in the Shark Tank where Kankowski scored a last minute try and a dropkick conversion by Kockott gave the Sharks hope for a win but immediately afterwards Craig Joubert ended the match.
Some victory after all
Kankowski was selected for the Springbok-squad who eventually won the Tri-Nations and the British & Irish Lions Series and in the Currie Cup the Natal side lost to the Cheetahs. His Tri-Nations win and B&I Series triumph will be remembered by the man who was born in Port Elizabeth as his biggest vicories in his short career.
There is still a lot to come, and after the 2010 Currie Cup win with the Sharks (in which he scored against the Western Province in both matches in the reg. season) Kankowski is now eager to finally win that Super Rugby trophy! A trophy missing from a lot of Natal-based players. The only one actually winning it in the current squad is Jacques-Louis Potgieter. Let's hope he can make it his second this year, just so Kankowski can finally step out of the shadow of Pierre Spies.
Some great moments from Kanko!
In 2004 he was selected for the KZN squad for the ABSA U20 Competition and the U21 Competition a year later. Soon afterwards he made his debut in the Vodacom Cup of 2006 when he came on as a substitute for Dusty Noble in the 64th minute against the Mighty Elephants on the 28th of April. The Natal side won 20-71 with 11 tries of which Kankowski prepared 2.
The 2006 Currie Cup, the breakthrough
His star was really rising in that year. He came on as a substitute against te Lions in Durban. Wikus van Heerden was on his way to score a try for the Lions and he had already crossed the tryline when Kankowski managed to dislodge the ball and prevent the Lions from having a chance to still win and would have given the Lions a second bonus point. Oddly enough, at the end of the season, the Sharks were in 4th place, only 2 points above the Lions.
A week later he again came on as a substitute. It was the first time that people on TV saw his intercept-skills. He intercepted a line-out which almost led to a try. Where have we seen that before?
Ohw yes.
Kanko's first chance in the starting line-up was in week 3 of the 2006 Currie Cup. He started in his favourite position of 8-man. While the Sharks went on to win 34-16, Kankowski impressed the fans and the coaching staff.
When the Sharks travelled to Witbank to play the Pumas, it was a big day for Kanko. Again getting the chance to start, he didn't disappoint with a brilliant performance including his first Currie Cup try. After Gcobani Bobo took the Sharks ahead, Kankowski scored the second try of the Sharks and it was the first one of many, many more.
2 weeks later Kankowski scored his second try of the season in Pretoria, against a fierce Bulls side. By then the Sharks were 50-27 behind with only 6 minutes to go. Kankowski's try was the fourth which gave them a bonus point. Highlight of this match however was the clash between Kankowski and his later rival Pierre Spies
In week 13, close to the end, Kankowski added another 2 in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs who, despite that, beat the Sharks 37-35, before scoring his final try of the season against the Falcons in the last game of the regular season.
In 2007 Kankowski played for the Emerging Springboks at the IRB Nations Cup but didn't play. The 2007 Super 14 season was the moment everybody outside South Africa got to know Ryan. After a season in which he started out as a sub, he forced himself into the starting line-up and in the Sharks' most succesful season in super Rugby history, he scored his first try in the final round of the regular season against the Stormers. It was the first of 5 tries in total for the Natal side, which got them to the top of the log for a home semi-final against the Blues from Auckland.
In the final of 2007, he was starting but the Sharks lost due to a last minute try by Bryan Habana which was converted by Derick Hougaard, who gave the Bulls a 1 point lead after the siren.
Missing Super 14 ***le and the World Cup
When Pierre Spies had to stay home injured, eyes were focussed on Kankowski. Would he be the replacement? In the build up to the tournament there has been the Luke Watson controversy which didn't help Kankowski. Danie Rossouw and Bob Skinstead ended up travelling to France for his position to win the trophy. Kankowski's chance came after the World Cup. Kankowski got the chance to start and played the full 80 minutes in Cardiff against the Welsh team. Kankowski scored his first try in this match as well. It was the start of something beautiful.
After his succesful debut in the green and gold and a second match against the Barbarians, he joined the Sharks for a Super14 season that was all about revenge. On the 1st of march, the chance for revenge was at hand and the Sharks travelled to Pretoria to face the Bulls. without even conceding a try, and scoring 4 tries themselves, the Sharks won 15-29. In the 2008 season he went on to score 5 tries in total and was voted Vodacom player of the tournament, A huge performance by the then 22-year old. The Sharks were the only South African team to make the play offs but lost to the Waratahs.
In the Currie Cup that year, the Sharks were immensely succesful, winning the ***le, and losing only 2 matches in the process. First a 35-13 loss against the Bulls and later a loss in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs (31-9). The Bulls were eventually defeated in the final by 2 tries from Pienaar and Steyn. The Currie Cup win was the medicine the Durban side needed to recover from that tragic day back in 2007.
In 2009 the Sharks missed the play offs by 1 point, losing in the final match of the regular season to... You guessed it, the Bulls. 26-27 in the Shark Tank where Kankowski scored a last minute try and a dropkick conversion by Kockott gave the Sharks hope for a win but immediately afterwards Craig Joubert ended the match.
Some victory after all
Kankowski was selected for the Springbok-squad who eventually won the Tri-Nations and the British & Irish Lions Series and in the Currie Cup the Natal side lost to the Cheetahs. His Tri-Nations win and B&I Series triumph will be remembered by the man who was born in Port Elizabeth as his biggest vicories in his short career.
There is still a lot to come, and after the 2010 Currie Cup win with the Sharks (in which he scored against the Western Province in both matches in the reg. season) Kankowski is now eager to finally win that Super Rugby trophy! A trophy missing from a lot of Natal-based players. The only one actually winning it in the current squad is Jacques-Louis Potgieter. Let's hope he can make it his second this year, just so Kankowski can finally step out of the shadow of Pierre Spies.
Some great moments from Kanko!
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