EW Viljoen

EW Viljoen (born 9 May 1995 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player playing for the Johannesburg based Lions. He previously played for the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge, while also representing the Leicester Tigers. It was announced on the 14th of July 2020 that Viljoen would be joining the Lions.[1] He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, winger or centre.

EW Viljoen
Date of birth (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995
Place of birthBloemfontein, South Africa
Height1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Weight92 kg (14 st 7 lb; 203 lb)
SchoolGrey College, Bloemfontein
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback / Winger / Centre
Youth career
2008–2013 Free State Cheetahs
2014–2016 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2019 Western Province 37 (65)
2017–2019 Stormers 29 (35)
2019–2020 Leicester Tigers 4 (0)
2020–2022 Lions 15 (19)
2020–2022 Golden Lions 9 (5)
Correct as of 16 September 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 South Africa Schools 2 (0)
2015 South Africa Under-20 3 (0)
Correct as of 18 April 2018

Career

Youth

Viljoen was noticed at primary school level, when he was selected in the Free State squad for the Under-13 Craven Week tournament in 2008. He then went to Grey College in Bloemfontein, where he was called up to a number of youth tournaments. He played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011, where he scored 18 points in two matches against Western Province[2] and the Falcons.[3]

In 2012, he was included in the Free State's Under-18 Craven Week squad, scoring a try against KwaZulu-Natal[4] and he played in the competition again in 2013, this time contributing a brace in their match against the Pumas.[5]

This led to Viljoen's inclusion in the South African Schools side for the 2013 international series, where he started two matches to help the South African side to victories over England[6] and France.[7]

At the end of 2013, he moved to Cape Town to join Western Province. He was one of the Western Province Rugby Institute players that were invited to form part of the Stormers wider training group prior to the 2014 Super Rugby season.[8] A knee injury ruled him out for part of the season,[9] but he returned to action for the Western Province U21 side during the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring five tries in five appearances, including a brace against the Leopards U21.[10]

Western Province

He was included in the senior squad for the first time for the final match of the round-robin stage of the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, being named in the starting line-up for their match against the Sharks.[11]

Leicester Tigers

On 2 July 2019, English Premiership Rugby side Leicester Tigers announced the signing of Viljoen ahead of the 2019–20 season.[12]

Lions/Golden Lions

On 14 July 2020, Vijoen returns to South Africa to sign for Lions back into the Super Rugby competition. He will also play for Golden Lions in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions.[13]

South Africa Under-20

In March 2015, Viljoen was named in an extended South Africa Under-20 training group as part of their preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[14] He didn't feature in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team[15] or their two-match tour of Argentina,[16] but was included in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[17]

He wasn't named in the squad for their 33–5 win against hosts Italy in the first of their three matches in Pool B of the competition[18] and was an unused replacement in their next match, a 40–8 win against Samoa.[19] He started their final match, a 46–13 win over Australia[20] to help South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Viljoen started their semi-final match against England, but could not prevent them losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession[21] and also started their third-place play-off match against France, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.[22]

Cricket

Viljoen was also a cricketer at school and was called up to various Free State youth cricket teams.[23]

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – EW Viljoen". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP 6–11 Free State". South African Rugby Union. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State 22–15 Valke". South African Rugby Union. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State 24–48 KZN". South African Rugby Union. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State 22–25 Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19–14 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–13 France". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  8. "Contracted players kick-off preparations". Stormers. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  9. "Unbeaten U21 WP Get a Boost in Time for the Bulls". Youth Sports Network. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards U21 21–64 Western Province U21". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  11. "Experienced Harris in charge as Sharks come to town". Western Province. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  12. "EW Viljoen, Hanro Liebenberg & Jordan Coghlan join Premiership side". BBC. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  13. "EW Viljoen signs for Lions as backline stock bulges". News 24. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  14. "SARU names large group for Junior Bok trials". South African Rugby Union. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24–31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  16. "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  17. "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Championship in Italy". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5–33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  20. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46–13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  21. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20–28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  22. "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18–31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  23. "Cricinfo Player Profile EW Viljoen". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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