Piet Greyling

Last updated

Piet Greyling
Birth namePieter Johannes Frederik 'Piet' Greyling
Date of birth (1942-05-16) 16 May 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth Zastron, South Africa
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight85 kg (13 st 5 lb)
School Hoërskool Sentraal, Bloemfontein
UniversityPotchefstroom Agriculture College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1967 Collegians (Bloemfontein) ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1967 Orange Free State ()
1969–72 Transvaal ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1967–72 ZAF 25 (5 tries)

Pieter Johannes Frederik 'Piet' Greyling, born 16 May 1942 in Zastron, South Africa, is a South African rugby union player who has represented the national team, the Springboks, 43 times, captaining them once, and scoring 5 tries in total. Greyling has been described as one of the best and toughest flanks, [1] and is best known for his pairing with Jan Ellis in 24 tests.

Contents

Early life

Piet Greyling was brought up on a tobacco farm in Mashonaland in then-Rhodesia. At the age of 14 he was sent to Sentraal High School [2] in Bloemfontein, and eventually played for Free State Schools. After briefly attending Potchefstroom Agricultural College, Greyling returned to Rhodesia. [1]

Career

Greyling played club rugby for Hartley [3] and represented Rhodesia, which in those years participated in South Africa's top-level domestic provincial league, the Currie Cup. He featured well in Rhodesia's match against Michel Crauste's 1964 touring French side, which the home team lost 11–34. [4]

In 1965 Greyling moved to South Africa. [4] Stints for the Free State (1967) and Northern Transvaal teams followed, before he settled for Transvaal, where he played for Diggers Rugby Club. [5] [6] Under his captaincy Transvaal shared the Currie Cup with Northern Transvaal in 1971, ending a 19-year drought, and won it outright in 1972 with a 25–19 win against Eastern Transvaal. [1]

Greyling made his Springbok debut at flank in the first test against France at Kings Park, Durban, on 15 July 1967, which South Africa won 26–3. South African rugby administrator Danie Craven described the test as a vital one, as South Africa had lost 8 of its previous 9 test matches. [1]

When Greyling and Jan Ellis played for the same team, they formed a formidable pair in which Greyling performed a destructive role on which Ellis could capitalise, as Barry John recalled in his 1974 autobiography. [1]

Greyling's work ethic on the field was such that doc Craven said that for 80 minutes he drove himself like a slave. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bulls</span> South African rugby team

The Blue Bulls is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng province.

Pieter Malan, more commonly known as Piet, played rugby union for the then Transvaal province as well as the Springbok rugby teams. He played the position of flanker.

Morné du Plessis OIS is a former South African rugby union player often described as one of the Springboks' most successful captains. During the five years from 1975 to 1980 that he served as captain, the Springboks won 13 of 15 matches, giving Du Plessis an 86.66% success rate as captain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Smith</span> Former South African rugby union player

Juanne Hugo Smith is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented South Africa in international test rugby, the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby competition, and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup. He mainly played as a blindside flanker, although he has also played number eight.

Matthys Johannes 'Thys' Lourens is a former South African rugby union Rugby player.

Johannes Lodewikus 'Wikus' van Heerden is a South African former rugby union player who played as a flanker. He finished his career playing for the Lions in Super Rugby, and the Golden Lions in the national Currie Cup competition. Van Heerden also won 14 caps for the South Africa national team, the Springboks. Before his move to the Bulls, he was the captain of the Cats.

Pieter Gysbert Muller is a former international South Africa rugby union player. A centre, he was known for his strength and direct running.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Brüssow</span> South Africa international rugby union player

Heinrich Wilhelm Brüssow is a South African former professional rugby union player. His usual position was as open-side flanker and his most recent club was Northampton Saints in the English Premiership.

Allen Erasmus Drotské, commonly known as Naka Drotské, is a South African former rugby union player, who played as a hooker. He played for the South Africa national team, the Springboks, 26 times between 1993 and 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Zimbabwe</span>

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.

Jan Hendrik Ellis was a South African rugby union player who represented the Springboks in 38 tests, which at his retirement in 1976 was a record. His 7 test tries equalled Ferdie Bergh's record for forwards and were only surpassed in 1997 by Mark Andrews' 12 tries. Playing on the flank, Ellis was instantly recognisable on the field due to his red hair and uncompromising playing style. Among three Springboks invited to participate in the first unofficial rugby sevens world cup in 1973, he was ranked in 2003 as the 12th greatest Springbok of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Johnson (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Ashley Johnson is a professional rugby union player-coach who plays and coaches for Birmingham Moseley in National League 1. He previously played for Free State Cheetahs at provincial level, Cheetahs in the Super Rugby, Wasps in Premiership Rugby and the Springboks. His usual position is hooker, having converted from backrow whilst with Wasps. His first game for the Springboks was in 2009 on tour to the British Isles, but he only earned his first Test Caps in the 2011 Tri-Nations series.

Gideon Johannes Stegmann is a South African professional rugby union player, who most recently played as an openside flank for Honda Heat in the Japanese Top League. He made his Super 14 debut for the Bulls in 2008 at the age of 21.

Sydney Nomis was a South African national rugby union player who until 2001 held the record for most consecutive matches (25) played for the Springboks. Nomis is best remembered for tries that he scored against France in 1968 and the All Blacks in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter-Steph du Toit</span> South African rugby union player

Pieter Stephanus du Toit is a South African professional rugby union player. Du Toit plays as a lock or a flanker for the South Africa national team and the Toyota Verblitz in Japan Rugby League One. After winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup with South Africa, he was awarded the 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year. He was awarded player of the match in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand.

Sentraal High School is a public high school in Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa.

Pieter Hendriks, is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1992 and 1996.

Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt is a Rhodesian-born South African retired rugby union player and former captain of the Springboks. He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head. He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa. Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.

Jacques Olivier is a former South African rugby union player.

Petrus Ingenas Lourens 'Piet' Pretorius is a former South African rugby union player.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Piet Greyling". Springbokrugby.webs.com. The McLook rugby collection. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Bruwer, Ruan (4 June 2016). "3 SA skole spog met ewe veel voor-Bokke". Netwerk24. Retrieved 23 April 2018. Sentraal High produced two Springbok captains: Greyling, and Nelie Smith (1964, 1965).
  3. ↑ "New Boks could surface from the backwaters". Sunday Times. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Ronald Andrew Hill". Milton Junior School. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Zim Boks are nothing new". Sport24. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Diggers rugby". SASPA Archives. South African Sports Picture Agency. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Geen, Michael (21 October 2017). "Juan Smith: Klink 'n glasie op 'n grote". Network24. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Springbok Captain
1972		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.