Divan Serfontein

Divan Serfontein
Birth name	David Jacobus Serfontein
Date of birth	3 August 1954 (age 69)
Place of birth	Krugersdorp, South Africa
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	70 kg (150 lb)
School	Vanderbijlpark High School
University	Stellenbosch University
Occupation(s)	Orthopedic surgeon
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Scrumhalf
Provincial / State sides
Years	Team
1976–1984	Western Province
International career
Years	Team
1980–1984	South Africa

Last updated November 20, 2023

David Jacobus 'Divan' Serfontein (born 3 August 1954 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a former Springbok rugby union player.^[1]

Playing career

Provincial career

Serfontein started his rugby career in 1974 at Maties where he was selected for the club's under-20 age group team. He was soon afterwards selected for the Western Province under-20 team and in his first match he played alongside the future South African cricketer, Peter Kirsten. In 1976 Serfontein made his provincial first team debut for Western Province against the touring All Blacks side of Andy Leslie. Western Province won this match 12–11.

At the start of the 1981 rugby season, Serfontein was appointed as Western Province captain. He went on to captain his province 51 times and also led his team to three consecutive Currie Cup titles, in 1982, 1983 and 1984.^[2]

International career

Serfontein made his test debut for the Springboks on 31 May 1980 at his home ground, Newlands in Cape Town against the touring British and Irish Lions team, captained by Bill Beaumont. He also scored his first test try in this match. The test series against the Lions, was followed with tests against the South American Jaguars, France, Ireland, New Zealand ( the so-called Rebel Tour) and England.^[3]

Serfontein was selected as captain for the two test matches against the touring South American Jaguars in October 1984 and in doing so became the 39th Springbok test captain. Serfontein retired from rugby union at the end of the 1984 season, having played 100 matches for Western Province and 19 consecutive test matches for the Springboks. He also scored 3 test tries.^[2]

Test history

No.	Opposition	Result (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Date	Venue
1.	British Lions	26–22	Scrumhalf	1	31 May 1980	Newlands, Cape Town
2.	British Lions	26–19	Scrumhalf		14 June 1980	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
3.	British Lions	12–10	Scrumhalf		28 June 1980	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
4.	British Lions	13–17	Scrumhalf		12 July 1980	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
5.	South American Jaguars	22–13	Scrumhalf		18 October 1980	Wanderers Club, Montevideo
6.	South American Jaguars	30–16	Scrumhalf		25 October 1980	Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago
7.	France	37–15	Scrumhalf	1	8 November 1980	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
8.	Ireland	23–15	Scrumhalf		30 May 1981	Newlands, Cape Town
9.	Ireland	12–10	Scrumhalf		6 June 1981	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
10.	New Zealand	9–14	Scrumhalf		15 August 1981	Lancaster Park, Christchurch
11.	New Zealand	24–12	Scrumhalf		29 August 1981	Athletic Park, Wellington
12.	New Zealand	22–25	Scrumhalf		12 September 1981	Eden Park, Auckland
13.	United States	38–7	Scrumhalf		20 September 1981	Owl Creek Polo ground, Glenville, New York
14.	South American Jaguars	50–18	Scrumhalf		27 March 1982	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
15.	South American Jaguars	12–21	Scrumhalf		3 April 1982	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
16.	England	33–15	Scrumhalf		2 June 1984	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
17.	England	35–9	Scrumhalf		9 June 1984	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
18.	South American Jaguars	32–15	Scrumhalf (c)	1	20 October 1984	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
19.	South American Jaguars	22–13	Scrumhalf (c)		27 October 1984	Newlands, Cape Town

Accolades

Serfontein was named the SA Rugby player of the Year for 1982.^[4]

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References

↑ "David Jacobus Serfontein". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
1 2 Van der Merwe, F. J. G. (Floris J. G.), 1951- (2007). Matieland is rugbyland, 1980-2006. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 108–111. ISBN 9781920109790. OCLC 190836768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 100–118. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.
↑ SA Rugby Year Book-Jaarboek 1983. South African Rugby Board. 1982.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Wynand Claassen	Springbok Captain 1984	Succeeded by Naas Botha

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[1] "David Jacobus Serfontein". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 1 October 2019.

[:0-2] 1 2 Van der Merwe, F. J. G. (Floris J. G.), 1951- (2007). Matieland is rugbyland, 1980-2006. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 108–111. ISBN 9781920109790. OCLC 190836768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 100–118. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.

[4] SA Rugby Year Book-Jaarboek 1983. South African Rugby Board. 1982.

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