Bruce Houston
| Date of birth | 26 August 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Ballymena, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14.5 st; 203 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ballymena Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bruce Houston (born 26 August 1999) is an Irish-born Zimbabwean international rugby union player who plays for Union Sportive Bressane in the French Championnat Fédéral Nationale.
Educated at Ballymena Academy, he played for Ireland at under-18 and under-19 level, including captaining the side at both levels.[1] he joined the Ulster Rugby academy in 2018.[2] He made one senior appearance for Ulster in January 2019, coming off the bench against Leinster in the 2018–19 Pro14.[3] and played a number of times for Ulster 'A', including in the Celtic Cup, while also playing club rugby for Ballymena RFC.[1] He joined Super 6 side Heriot's Rugby Club ahead of the 2021–22 season.[4] He is Scottish-qualified, and signed for Edinburgh on a partnership deal in August 2022,[5] but was released at the end of the 2022–23 season.[6] He signed for the Cornish Pirates ahead of the 2023–24 season,[7] making 46 appearances and scoring 277 points in his two seasons at the club. He joined Union Sportive Bressane at the end of the 2024-25 season.[8]
On 11 July 2025, Houston was called up to Zimbabwe's squad for the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup in Uganda. Houston qualifies to play for Zimbabwe through his Zimbabwean-born mother.[9] He was selected in Zimbabwe's replacements for both their semi-final against Kenya and final against Namibia, making his debut after coming off the bench in the second half of the latter match.[10]
References
- ^ a b Bruce Houston: Personal Overview, The Rugby Agents, undated, retrieved 12 April 2023
- ^ "Six New Entrants Confirmed For Ulster Academy", IrisgRugby.ie, 25 July 2018
- ^ "Leinster 40 Ulster 7". Ulster Rugby. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Kelly confirms Heriot's Rugby squad ahead of the new FSROC Super6 season", Scottish Rugby, 22 July 2021, via Internet Archive
- ^ David Barnes, "Heriot's playmaker Bruce Houston signs partnership contract with Edinburgh", The Offside Line, 27 August 2022
- ^ "Edinburgh Rugby announce 17 players are to leave the club", The Scotsman, 7 April 2023
- ^ "Cornish Pirates bring in fly-half Houston". BBC Sport. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "France-bound Houston thankful to Cornish Pirates", BBC Sport, 7 May 2025
- ^ Muhumuza, Joseph (12 July 2025). "McNab, Houston to blitz Zimbabwe Sables through tough Kenya Simbas". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Kelly, Glenn (1 August 2025). "'It has been a crazy, surreal last few weeks' - Randalstown native Bruce on living out Rugby World Cup dream with Zimbabwe". The Irish News. Retrieved 4 August 2025.