Marco Kotze

Marco Kotze (born 25 August 1986) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with French Fédérale 1 side Marmande. He originally played as a winger, but has been subsequently converted to a loose-forward or a lock.

Career

Youth

Kotze went to Laerskool Randhart in Alberton, in a team that won the Super Twelve national competition for primary schools, playing alongside future Super Rugby player Derick Minnie. Kotze earned a call-up to the ' Under-13 Craven Week squad.

He went to Hoërskool Marais Viljoen in Alberton, where he appeared mainly as a winger and also earned a selection to the ' Craven Week team in 2004.

He progressed through the different age groups at the Golden Lions, playing at Under-19 level in 2005 and at Under-21 level in 2006. He also played for university side during this time, representing them at the National Club Championships in 2006.

Golden Lions

He made his first class debut for the in the 2006 Vodacom Cup, coming on as a first-half substitute in their match against the in Cape Town. He started his first match a week later, with the Golden Lions losing 29–35 to near rivals in Witbank. One more start followed against the , as well as a further two appearances off the bench.

Sharks

In 2007, Kotze made the move to Durban to join the . He played for the side during the 2007 season, but was never involved at first team level. During this time, he also played club rugby for Crusaders.

Falcons

He moved back to Gauteng in 2010 by joining the . By now, he was fully transformed into a loose forward and he made six appearances for the Falcons during the 2010 Vodacom Cup. He also scored his first try in first class rugby during this competition, scoring two tries in the Falcons' 33–65 defeat to Namibian side . He made his Currie Cup debut in the latter half of 2010, starting their 2010 Currie Cup First Division match against the in Kempton Park. He made one more Currie Cup appearance, against the in Port Elizabeth.

In 2011, he was named as a member of the ' leadership group for the 2011 Vodacom Cup season, making six appearances in the competition. He played in a further eight matches in the 2011 Currie Cup First Division competition, where he scored his first Currie Cup try in their match against the in East London.

He scored one try in six starts during the 2012 Vodacom Cup competition and one try in seven starts in the 2012 Currie Cup First Division competition.

Move to Australia

In 2013, head coach Jake White convinced Kotze to move to Australia to further his rugby career, but he had limited opportunities due to a shoulder injury. At the end of 2013, he moved north to Queensland, where he joined club side GPS Rugby in Brisbane.

Brisbane City / Reds

His performances for GPS earned him an inclusion in the squad that played in the inaugural 2014 National Rugby Championship. He played in seven of Brisbane City's eight regular season matches to help his side qualify for the semi-finals by the competition after finishing in third position on the log. He also scored a try in their derby match with to help his side to a 29–13 victory. Kotze's impact continued in the play-off stages of the competition, starting both the semi-final – which saw Brisbane City run out 32–26 winners against – and the final, where he played 76 minutes of a 37–26 victory over to see his side become the first side to win the NRC trophy.

Shortly after the end of the season, Kotze was included in Super Rugby franchise the ' Elite Development Squad for the 2015 Super Rugby season.