Justin Forwood

Forwood was born and grew up in Pretoria. He attended and played first team rugby for Hoërskool Waterkloof, and was also to selected the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls union at the premier South African high schools rugby union competition, the Under-18 Craven Week, on two occasions – he made a single appearance at the 2010 tournament in Welkom^[2] and another one at the 2011 tournament in Kimberley.^[3]

After high school, Forwood joined the Blue Bulls academy and established himself as a key player for the Blue Bulls U19 team in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship; he made eight starts and one appearance as a replacement during the round-robin stage of the competition, scoring four tries – two in their 90–0 win over SWD U19,^[4] and one each against the Leopards U19^[5] and Sharks U19^[6] – to help the Blue Bulls finish second on the log^[7] to qualify for the title play-offs. He started their semi-final against the Sharks, scoring two tries in a 46–35 victory,^[8] and the final against Western Province U19, where his side fell just short, losing the match 18–22.^[9] Forwood's six tries in the competition made him the Blue Bulls' top try scorer.^[10]

Forwood was named in the Blue Bulls squad for the 2013 Vodacom Cup, but didn't make any appearances in the competition.^[11] In the latter half of 2013, he represented the Blue Bulls U21 side in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship; his first five appearances for the team all came off the bench, but he started their final four matches of the regular season, scoring a try in the first of those against Border U21.^[12] The Blue Bulls finished second on the log to qualify for the title play-offs,^[13] and Forwood started their semi-final win over the Sharks U21s,^[14] as well as the final, where the team again fell just short, losing 23–30 to Western Province U21.^[15]

Forwood made just four appearances for the team in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try in their 31–10 victory over the Sharks in their penultimate match during the regular season.^[16] The team again finished in second place,^[17] but beat Western Province 20–10 in the final to win the championship.^[18]

At the start of 2015, Forwood played Varsity Cup rugby, making three appearances for a team that finished top of the log^[19] before losing to NWU Pukke in the semi-final, Forwood's only start for Tuks.^[20] He also joined the Blue Bulls' squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup and he made his first class debut in May 2015, starting in an 83–13 victory over their affiliated sub-union, the Limpopo Blue Bulls.^[21]

Forwood made eight appearances during the UP Tuks' 2015 Varsity Cup season, helping the side reach the semi-finals for the second consecutive season before losing to Maties in the semi-final.^[22] He made his second senior appearance during the 2016 Currie Cup qualification competition, coming on as a replacement in a 95–12 victory over Namibian side Welwitschias in Pretoria.^[23]

In August 2016, Forwood was contracted by the cash-strapped Eastern Province Kings for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.^[24] He made his debut in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup by coming on as a replacement in their first match of the season, a 10–28 defeat to Boland Cavaliers.^[25] He was promoted to the starting lineup for their next match against former side the Blue Bulls in his hometown of Pretoria.^[26] He started four of their remaining six matches in a season that saw the EP Kings fail to win any of their matches to finish bottom of the log.^[27]