Frederick Johannes 'Fritz' van Heerden (born 29 June 1970) is a former South African rugby union player who played international rugby for the Springboks, making his debut on 4 June 1994 in Pretoria against the England touring side.[1] Van Heerden played rugby with Western Province and Leicester Tigers.
| Birth name | Frederick Johannes van Heerden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 29 June 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Roodepoort, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 231 lb (105 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editVan Heerden matriculated at Roodepoort High School in 1988 and represented Transvaal at the annual Craven Week tournament in 1988. In 1991 he enrolled for a law degree at the University of Stellenbosch and represented Maties on the rugby field. He made his senior provincial debut in July 1991, when he replaced the injured Gert Smal, in the Western Province team. In 1996 he was named the Western Province captain.[2][3]
He joined Leicester Tigers in 1997, following fellow South African Joel Stransky, and joining up with Martin Johnson, and replacing Matt Poole who acquired a knee injury at about the same time with Dean Richards (normally a number eight) playing lock. Also able to play flanker, he complemented Johnson's more powerful play with mobility, but perhaps more importantly he pioneered the contesting of the opposition's line-out throws.
He returned to South Africa in 1999 to try to play for his country in the 1999 World Cup, and was drafted into the side late as a replacement for Selborne Boome, playing against Spain. After the World Cup, he returned to Leicester where he helped in the development of England lock Ben Kay. He retired.
Test history
edit| No. | Opponents | Results (SA 1st) |
Position | Tries | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  England |
15–32 | Flank | 4 Jun 1994 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | |
| 2. | England |
27–9 | Replacement | 11 Jun 1994 | Newlands, Cape Town | |
| 3. |  New Zealand |
18–18 | Flank | 6 Aug 1994 | Eden Park, Auckland | |
| 4. |  Italy |
40–21 | Flank | 12 Nov 1995 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome | |
| 5. | England |
24–14 | Flank | 18 Nov 1995 | Twickenham, London | |
| 6. | New Zealand |
32–22 | Replacement | 31 Aug 1996 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| 7. |  Argentina |
46–15 | Replacement | 9 Nov 1996 | Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires | |
| 8. | Argentina |
44–21 | Replacement | 16 Nov 1996 | Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires | |
| 9. |  Tonga |
74–10 | Lock | 1 | 10 Jun 1997 | Newlands, Cape Town |
| 10. |  British Lions |
15–18 | Replacement | 28 Jun 1997 | Kings Park, Durban | |
| 11. | British Lions |
35–16 | Replacement | 5 Jul 1997 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| 12. | New Zealand |
32–35 | Replacement | 19 Jul 1997 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| 13. | New Zealand |
35–55 | Replacement | 9 Aug 1997 | Eden Park, Auckland | |
| 14. |  Spain |
47–3 | Lock | 10 Oct 1999 | Murrayfield, Edinburgh |
See also
edit- List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 606
References
edit- ^ "Fritz van Heerden". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Van der Merwe, Floris (2007). Matieland is rugbyland, 1980-2006. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 155–156. ISBN 9781920109790. OCLC 190836768.
- ^ Van Rooyen, Quintus (1997). Bankfin Annual 1997. Montana Park: SA Rugby Writers' Society. p. 122. ISBN 0620209607.