Daniel Bowden

Dan Bowden

Full name	Daniel Russell Bowden
Date of birth	1 April 1986 (1986-04-01) (age 25)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	84 kg (13 st 3 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	First five-eighth, Second five-eighth
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2008–2009 2008–2009 2005–07 2009–	Otago Highlanders Northland Auckland	8 17 27	(41) (70) (96)
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2005 2007	NZSecondary Schools NZU19 NZU21

Daniel Bowden is a New Zealand Rugby Union player that plays rugby for Aviva Premiership side London Irish.

Career

Highlanders

Bowden played his first match for the Highlanders on Friday 15 February 2008 when he started against the Reds in Brisbane, he kicked one penalty for the match. Since then he went on to play a further 10 matches for the southern super 14 side in 2008, starting in 8 of them. Bowden finished the season with 23 points. In 2009 Bowden returned to the Highlanders franchise, this time he had more experience and understood the higher level of rugby. In the 2009 season he has started in all of the matches, either playing first-five or second-five. Known as very good attacker with quick footwork and a great passing game, he scored more than 50 points in the 2009 season. Bowden was picked up in the draft by the Crusaders after the Blues picked up Brett and Kirkpatrick, so he will in the 2010 Crusaders squad most likely to be Dan Carter's back up.

Crusaders

After an injury in the preseason, Bowden missed the first 5 games of the season, then starred in his debut for the Crusaders against the Cheetahs playing at flyhalf and was named Man of the Match. He went on to form an exciting partnership playing Second five-eighth outside All Black Dan Carter, and started in the semi-final against the Bulls in Soweto.

Northland

Bowden played three seasons for the Northland Taniwha is the Air New Zealand cup. He debuted at the age of 18 and went of to perform well for the men from the far north, earning Player of the year in 2007.

Otago

Bowden transferred from Northland to Otago for the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup, where he played in eight games. His first match was on Saturday 9 August 2008 in Dunedin when he came off the bench against Canterbury and kicked a penalty. Bowden went on to score 41 points in total for otago in 2008. Bowden then signed a two year contract with the Auckland Rugby Union. He said the decision to move north was based solely on wanting to get back to be with his family and girlfriend, Football Ferns captain Hayley Moorwood.

Auckland

Bowden's Auckland career came to halt after only four games in the 2009 season due to a season ending ankle injury. He was later that year signed by the Crusaders for the 2010 Super 14 season.

London Irish

Bowden signed for London Irish on a two year contract, he will join up with Irish at the end of the current Super 14 Season. ^[1] Bowden had a superb first year in the Aviva Premiership. Initially playing inside centre before moving to flyhalf, Bowden showed excellent touches on attack and was competent on defence. He displayed consistency and was selected to start 31 of 32 games in the 2010/2011 season. His performances for the club were noted by his peers as he was voted Players' Player of the Year.

References

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/london_irish/8595096.stm

• Highlanders website
• http://www.london-irish.com/news/Irish38522.ink

Persondata
Name	Bowden, Daniel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 April 1986
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death
Place of death