Kehinde Oluwatomisin O. "Jordan" Olowofela (born 17 April 1998)[1] is an English rugby union player who plays centre or wing for Doncaster Knights. He previously played for Nottingham and Leicester Tigers,[2] in Premiership Rugby and on loan for Loughborough Students in National League 1, Western Force in Australia's Super Rugby AU and Dragons in the URC, and for England Under-20s.
| Birth name | Kehinde Oluwatomisin O. Olowofela[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 17 April 1998[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hull, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb; 203 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Lincoln Minster School Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Taiye Olowofela (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editOlowofela was named as part of the Leicester Tigers team for the 2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series.[3] Olowofela made his debut for Leicester Tigers in the Anglo-Welsh Cup against Bath Rugby in November 2017.[4] On 27 January 2018 Olowofela scored his first try for Leicester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup against Cardiff Blues.[5]
Olowofela was named in the England U20s Elite Player Squad for the 2017–18 season,[6] and on 2 February 2018 made his debut from the bench against Italy in the 2018 Six Nations Under 20 Championship.[7] In the next fixture he scored a try against Wales.[8]
In May 2018, Olowofela was included in the squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[9] He scored twice in the final as England finished runners up to hosts France.[10]
On 23 September 2018 Olowofela started his first Premiership Rugby match for Leicester against Worcester Warriors and the same day was invited to a training camp with the senior England squad by Eddie Jones after a number of injury withdrawals.[11]
On 1 March 2021, Olowofela joined the Western Force, based in Perth, Western Australia on loan for the 2021 Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competitions.[12] In only his third game for the franchise, Olowofela scored a hat-trick of tries in the defeat of the previously unbeaten Queensland Reds to send the Force into their first ever finals campaign.[13]
On 2 September Olowofela joined Newport based Dragons on a season-long loan.[14] His release from Leicester was announced on 19 July 2022, with Olowofela joining RFU Championship side Nottingham.[15] He moved once more in Summer 2024 signing for Doncaster Knights ahead of the 2024-25 Championship season.
Personal life
editOlowofela has an identical twin brother, Ryan Olowofela, who has represented England 7s.[16] Olowofela attended Lincoln Minster School on a sports scholarship and was also a talented squash player as well as playing in Nottingham Forest's academy.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b "Jordan Olowofela ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Jordan Olowofela". Leicester Tigers player profiles. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Leicester Tigers name sevens team". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ Jones, Paul (10 November 2017). "Bath 33-31 Leicester Tigers verdict: Gallant young side go down to last-gasp defeat". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ Sherrard, Gary. "Match report: Tigers take cup win over Blues". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Five Tigers in England U20s squad". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "England U20s defeat Italy in Six Nations opener". England Rugby. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Under-20s Six Nations: England 37-12 Wales". BBC Sport. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "England U20: Squad for World Rugby U20 Championship". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "World Rugby U20 Championship: England lose out to France in final". BBC Sport. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs withdraw from England training camp through injury". BBC Sport. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Jordan Olowofela: Leicester Tigers back to join Western Force on loan". BBC Sport. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Olowofela hat-trick puts 14-man Force into play-offs". Rugby 365/AAP News. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "Jordan Olowofela: Dragons sign Leicester Tigers wing on loan". BBC Sport. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Squad Update: Jordan Olowofela". Leicester Tigers. 19 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Meet the Olowofela's, England's terrific twins". 3 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.