Kevin de Klerk

Kevin Brian Henry de Klerk (born 6 June 1950 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player.[1]

Kevin de Klerk
Birth nameKevin Brian Henry de Klerk
Date of birth (1950-06-06) 6 June 1950
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight111 kg (245 lb)
SchoolHill High School, Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Glenwood Old Boys ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1971–1984 Transvaal 108 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1974–1981 South Africa 13

Playing career

Youth and Provincial career

De Klerk started his rugby career with Transvaal when he was picked to represent the Transvaal schools team at the annual Craven Week tournament in 1968. De Klerk was again selected for the Schools team in 1969. His playing career with Transvaal continued after school, when he was selected for the under-20 age group team. De Klerk made his provincial first team debut for Transvaal in 1971.

International career

De Klerk made his test debut for the Springboks on 8 June 1974 at Newlands in Cape Town against the touring British Lions team, captained by Willie John McBride. De Klerk played in the second test in the series against the British Lions, but was dropped for the third test and replaced by Moaner van Heerden.[2] In subsequent years it was often a choice between de Klerk and Van Heerden for the number 4 lock position in the Springbok team.[3]

Following the 1974 test series against the British Lions, de Klerk also represent the Springboks against the, 1975 French touring team, the 1976 All Blacks, the 1980 South American Jaguars and British Lions, and the 1981 Irish touring team. De Klerk’s last test match was against Ireland on his 31st birthday, 6 June 1981 at Kings Park Stadium, Durban. De Klerk played 13 test matches for the Springboks.[2]

Test history
No.OppositionResult (SA 1st)PositionTriesDateVenue
1. British Lions3–12Lock8 June 1974Newlands, Cape Town
2. British Lions9–28Lock22 June 1974Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
3. British Lions9–26Reserve13 July 1974Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
4. France38–25Lock21 June 1975Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
5. France33–18Lock28 June 1975Loftus Versveld, Pretoria
6. New Zealand9–15Reserve14 August 1976Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
7. New Zealand15–10Lock4 September 1976Newlands, Cape Town
8. New Zealand15–14Lock18 September 1976Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
9. South American Jaguars24–9Lock26 April 1980Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
10. South American Jaguars18–9Lock3 May 1980Kings Park Stadium, Durban
11. British Lions26–19Lock14 June 1980Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
12. Ireland23–15Lock30 May 1981Newlands, Cape Town
13. Ireland12–10Lock6 June 1981Kings Park Stadium, Durban

Accolades

De Klerk was named one of the five SA Rugby players of the Year for 1972. The four other players named, were two members of the 1972 England team that toured South Africa, namely Sam Doble and John Pullin, as well as the South African flanker Jan Ellis and future Springbok Carel Fourie.[4]

Rugby administration

Since his playing days and from 2000, De Klerk has served in various executive capacities with the Golden Lions Rugby Union, the Lions Rugby Company (Pty) Ltd. and Ellis Park Stadium (Pty) Ltd. He was elected president of the Golden Lions Rugby Union in July 2009 and held this position until his retirement in August 2018.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Kevin de Klerk". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  2. Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 85–108. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.
  3. Greyvenstein, Chris. (1992). Springbok saga : from 1891 to the new beginning (4th ed.). Cape Town: Don Nelson. p. 271. ISBN 1868060950. OCLC 105375255.
  4. Colquhoun, Andy (1999). The South African Rugby Annual 1999. Cape Town: MWP Media Sport. p. 22. ISBN 0958423148.
  5. "Legendary Lions president calls it a day". Sport. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.