Faf de Klerk
Francois "Faf" de Klerk (born 19 October 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Japan Rugby League One club Yokohama Canon Eagles and the South Africa national team. He was a member of the South Africa team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
![]() de Klerk playing for South Africa in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Francois de Klerk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 19 October 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Masilo, Theunissen , Republic of South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 80 kg (180 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Hoërskool Waterkloof | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Rugby player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-professional career
Born in Nelspruit (now Mbombela), De Klerk played rugby at Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria.[2]
Career
De Klerk was included in the Lions squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season[3] and made his debut in a 21–20 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.[4][5]
He joined the Golden Lions Currie Cup team for the 2016 season.[6]
He joined English Premiership side Sale Sharks prior to the 2017–18 season on a three-year contract.[7] In December 2018, the club announced that De Klerk signed a contract extension until 2023.[8]
After four seasons with the Sharks, de Klerk announced in June 2022 that he would be departing the club at the end of the 2021-22 season to join Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan Rugby League One.[9][10]
International career
De Klerk was rewarded for his Super Rugby form when he was selected by the then recently appointed Springbok coach Allister Coetzee in South Africa's 31-man squad for their 2016 three-test match series against Ireland[11] and made his test debut as the starting scrum-half in the opening test at Newlands Stadium. In a tightly-fought series, Ireland won the first test 26−20, but the Springboks fought back to clinch the series, winning 32−26 in Johannesburg and 19−13 in Port Elizabeth.
After signing for Sale Sharks in 2017, De Klerk was ineligible to represent the Springboks due to having fewer than 30 caps.[12] However, after this selection criterion was abolished in 2018, new Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus recalled De Klerk to the team for the 2018 three-test match series against England.[12]
He was a member of South Africa's victorious 2019 Rugby Championship campaign and was duly selected for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[13] In their 20 October quarter-final match against Japan, he was named Player of the Match.[14] He was a key player for South Africa's World Cup victory, being named as the starting scrum-half in two of their pool matches, as well as all their play-off games. He scored a try in their quarter-final win over Japan.[15] De Klerk was once again included as the starting scrum-half against England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final, which saw South Africa beating England 32−12 to secure a third Webb Ellis Cup lift.
International tries
- As of 19 November 2021 [16]
Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
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1 | ![]() |
Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | 2018 England rugby union tour of South Africa | 9 June 2018 | Win | 42 – 39 |
2 | ![]() |
Durban, South Africa | Kings Park Stadium | 2018 Rugby Championship | 18 August 2018 | Win | 34 –21 |
3 | ![]() |
Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 2018 Rugby Championship | 29 September 2018 | Win | 23 –12 |
4 | ![]() |
Chōfu, Japan | Tokyo Stadium | 2019 Rugby World Cup | 20 October 2019 | Win | 3 – 26 |
5 | ![]() |
Cape Town, South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa | 24 July 2021 | Loss | 17 –22 |
References
- "Faf de Klerk player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- "Faf de Klerk: Five quick facts about the Springbok superstar". 26 June 2018.
- "2014 Lions Super Rugby squad" (Press release). Lions. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- "Match Centre: Cheetahs v Lions". SANZAR. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Cheetahs 20–21 Lions". South African Rugby Union. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- "De Klerk and Fourie sign with Lions Rugby" (Press release). Golden Lions. 3 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- "Sale Sharks announce signing of South Africa international Faf de Klerk" (Press release). Sale Sharks. 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- "Faf de Klerk commits to Sale Sharks until 2023". BusinessLIVE. 1 January 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- "Sale scrum-half De Klerk to join Canon Eagles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- Odeven, Ed (2 June 2022). "RUGBY | Faf de Klerk Signs with Yokohama Canon Eagles | JAPAN Forward". japan-forward.com. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- "Squad of 31 ushers in new era of Springbok rugby". South African Rugby Union. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016.
- Rees, Paul (24 October 2019). "Faf de Klerk: 'I guess moving to England was a blessing in disguise'". The Guardian.
- "England v South Africa: Can Faf de Klerk be stopped in World Cup final?". BBC Sport. 29 October 2019.
- "Japan v South Africa - Catch up on all the action - Rugby World Cup 2019". World Rugby. 20 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- "Match 44, Quarter Final". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- "Faaf de Klerk". 19 November 2021.
External links
- Francois de Klerk at Premiership Rugby
- Francois de Klerk at ESPNscrum
- Francois de Klerk at ItsRugby.co.uk
- Faf de Klerk at Springboks.rugby
- Interview with BBC Sport (November 2019)
