Date of birth | 1962 (age 61–62) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Salisbury, South Rhodesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | St. John's College [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Neville Kloppers (born c. 1962), is a Zimbabwean rugby union player who played as lock.
At club level, Kloppers played for Old Johnians RFC and for the Mashonaland provincial team alongside Andy Ferreira, Malcolm Jellicoe, Andre Buitendag, Dirk Buitendag, Alex Nicholls, who would play alongside him for Zimbabwe at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. [3] His only international cap was during the pool match against France, in Auckland on 2 June 1987. [4] [5]
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World champions of the sport.
Harare, formerly Salisbury, is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 982.3 km2 (379.3 sq mi), a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region. Harare is a metropolitan province which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level, and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblem is the Springbok, a native antelope and the national animal of South Africa. The team has represented South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the top-ranked rugby team in the world and reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
Henry Khaaba Olonga is a Zimbabwean former cricketer, who played Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket for Zimbabwe. In domestic first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, Olonga played for Matabeleland, Mashonaland and Manicaland. When he made his Test debut in January 1995, he was the first black cricketer and the youngest person to play for Zimbabwe. He was a regular member of the Zimbabwe team through 1998 to 2003. He featured in three World Cup tournaments in 1996, 1999 and 2003. During his playing days, he formed a rivalry against former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar whenever Zimbabwe and India played against each other in international cricket. He was also regarded as Zimbabwe cricket's poster boy.
The England men's national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in international competition. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team did not play its first test until 1981, against Kenya. Zimbabwe has competed in two World Cups, in 1987 and 1991, in place of South Africa, who were sanctioned by the IRB at the time due to apartheid. Zimbabwe is categorized as Tier 3 Development One, which prioritizes Zimbabwe over other nations due to historical success as well as popularity of rugby in the nation.
Raymond Herman Mordt is a Zimbabwean/South African rugby footballer who represented his country in rugby union before moving to English professional rugby league club, Wigan, with whom he won the Championship during the 1986–87 season. He is the uncle of England Sevens player Nils Mordt.
David Willmer Pocock is an Australian politician and former professional rugby union player. Raised in Gweru, Zimbabwe, Pocock moved to Australia as a teenager and played for the Australia national rugby team. He played primarily at openside flanker, and was vice captain of the Brumbies in Super Rugby. After his retirement, Pocock worked as a conservationist and social justice advocate. In the 2022 Australian federal election, Pocock ran as an independent candidate for one of the Australian Capital Territory's two Senate seats. He defeated Liberal incumbent senator Zed Seselja, ending the two major parties' duopoly on the ACT's Senate delegation which had been in place since the ACT was granted Senate representation in 1975.
Rugby union in Zimbabwe is a popular sport and ranks after association football and cricket as one of the oldest and most popular sports in the country. The Zimbabwe national team, commonly known as the Sables, have been playing international rugby since the early 1900s and have made appearances in two Rugby World Cups Zimbabwe at the Rugby World Cup on two occasions. As with rugby union in Namibia, the country's lack of a professional structure, and opportunity for player's to earn an income playing rugby, has been a problem for national organisers.
Eli Colin Snyman is a Zimbabwean rugby union player for Benetton. He previously played for English Premiership Rugby side Leicester Tigers between 2021 and 2023. He also played for Benetton between 2019 and 2023 and for the Bulls and Blue Bulls in South Africa. His regular position is lock.
Mary-Anne Musonda is a Zimbabwean cricketer and the current captain of the women's national cricket team. She is a right-handed batter and an off-beak bowler. She also has a master's degree in Development Finance from the University of Cape Town.
Joy Neville is a former Ireland women's rugby union international and rugby union referee. As a player, Neville represented Ireland at both the 2006 and 2010 Women's Rugby World Cups. In 2009 Neville captained the first Ireland team to defeat France. In 2013 she was also a member of the first Ireland women's team to win the Six Nations, Grand Slam and Triple Crown titles.
Andrew Meyer Ferreira is a Zimbabwean former rugby union player and coach. He played as fullback.
Malcolm Jellicoe is a Zimbabwean former rugby union player who played as scrum-half.
The 2019 ICC Women's Qualifier Africa was a cricket tournament that was held in Zimbabwe in May 2019. The matches in the tournament were played as Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), with the top team progressing to both the 2019 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier and the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournaments. Uganda won the previous Africa qualifier tournament, when it was held in Windhoek in 2017.
Alexander Herbert Nicholls is a Zimbabwean former rugby union player and coach. He played as prop.
Andre Buitendag, is a Zimbabwean rugby union player who played as centre.
Dirk Buitendag, is a Zimbabwean rugby union player who played as flanker.
Anesu Catherine Mushangwe is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays for the Zimbabwe women's national cricket team. She currently resides in Australia.