Jannie de Beer

This article is about the rugby player. For the painter, see Jan de Beer (painter). For the bowls international, see Jannie de Beer (bowls).

Jannie de Beer

Birth name	Jan Hendrik de Beer
Date of birth	(1971-04-22) 22 April 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth	North Shields, Free State, South Africa
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	87 kg (192 lb)
School	Wessel Maree High School, Odendaalsrus
University	University of the Free State
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flyhalf Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1998–99 London Scottish 16 (168) 2001–02 Saracens 6 (53) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1990–94, 96–99 Free State 80 (915) 1995 Transvaal () Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1998 Cats 6 (72) 2000 Bulls 10 (123) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1997–99 South Africa 13 (181)

Jan Hendrik de Beer (born 22 April 1971) is a South African former rugby union player. He played flyhalf for the South African national team, the Springboks. In all he represented the Springboks in 13 tests, scoring 181 points. ^{[1] [2]} He was principally known as a kicking fly-half. ^[3]

Career

Born in Welkom, de Beer represented Northern Free State at the 1989 Craven Week tournament. He made his senior provincial debut for the Free State in 1990 as a 19-year-old. ^{[2] [3]}

De Beer made his début against the British & Irish Lions in 1997, being brought in for the dropped Henry Honiball whose running game had been contained by the Lions' defence in the first two of the three tests. ^[4] He failed however to establish himself properly in the Springbok side.

De Beer is most famous for his world record five drop goals in a single test match, set in the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Paris against England. The Springboks won the match 44-21, knocking England out of the tournament. ^[5] However, his attempts to repeat the tactic in the semi-final versus Australia backfired, as despite several attempts he only scored one in the match, and the Australians closed him down. ^[6] It proved to be his final appearance for the Springboks.

A professed Christian, de Beer credits his faith in God for his successes. De Beer retired from professional rugby in 2002 due to a knee injury. ^[7]

At the end of 2019, de Beer was appointed as the director of rugby at the Windhoek Gymnasium. ^[8]

Test history

No.	Opponents	Results (SA 1st)	Position	Points	Dates	Venue
1.	British Lions	35–16	Flyhalf	13 (2 conv, 3 pen)	5 July 1997	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2.	New Zealand	32–35	Flyhalf	22 (2 conv, 4 pen, 2 drop)	19 July 1997	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
3.	Australia	20–32	Flyhalf	10 (1 try, 1 conv, 1 pen)	2 August 1997	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
4.	New Zealand	35–55	Flyhalf	6 (3 conv)	9 August 1997	Eden Park, Auckland
5.	Australia	61–22	Flyhalf	26 (1 try, 6 conv, 3 pen)	23 August 1997	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
6.	France	52–10	Replacement		22 November 1997	Parc des Princes, Paris
7.	Scotland	68–10	Flyhalf	2 (1 conv)	6 December 1997	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
8.	Australia	10–9	Flyhalf	5 (1 conv, 1 pen)	14 August 1999	Newlands, Cape Town
9.	Scotland	46–29	Flyhalf	16 (5 conv, 2 pen)	3 October 1999	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10.	Spain	47–3	Flyhalf	12 (6 conv)	10 October 1999	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
11.	Uruguay	39–3	Flyhalf	14 (4 conv, 2 pen)	15 October 1999	Hampden Park, Glasgow
12.	England	44–21	Flyhalf	34 (2 conv, 5 pen, 5 drop)	24 October 1999	Stade de France, Paris
13.	Australia	21–27	Flyhalf	21 (6 pen, 1 drop)	30 October 1999	Twickenham, London

Legend: pen = penalty (3 pts.); conv = conversion (2 pts.), drop = drop kick (3 pts.).

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 653

References

1. "Jannie de Beer | Rugby Union | Players and Officials". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
2. Schoeman, Chris (2000). Who's who of South African rugby 2000 (5th ed.). Cape Town: Strobe Communications. p. 24. ISBN   0620261889. OCLC   56517006.
3. Dobson, Paul (1999). Champions and challengers. London: Struik. p. 74. ISBN   1-86872-393-3. OCLC   43526923.
4. Colquhoun, Andy (1999). The South African Rugby Annual 1999. Cape Town: MWP Media Sport. pp. 66–72. ISBN   0958423148.
5. O'Sullivan, John. "RWC Moments: Jannie de Beer's five drop goals". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
6. "Classic Encounter - Wallabies vs Springboks World Cup Semifinal 1999 - Rugby News & Videos". www.rugbydump.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
7. "De Beer hangs up his boots". News24. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
8. "Drop king De Beer appointed at Windhoek Gymnasium". The Namibian. Retrieved 16 January 2021.

External links

• "SA Rugby Player Profile – Jannie de Beer". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
• Official website of the IRB Rugby World Cup 2003, accessed 17 October 2005.
• “Star Q & A: Jannie de Beer”, accessed 17 October 2005.
• “Rugby World Cup 1999: De Beer Diamond”, accessed 17 October 2005.