Des van Jaarsveldt
Birth name | Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 31 March 1929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Plumtree School, Rhodesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt MBE[1] (born 31 March 1929) is a Rhodesian-born South African retired rugby union player[2] and former captain of the Springboks.[3] He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head.[4] He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa.[5] Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.
Rugby career
Playing career
Van Jaarsveldt made his rugby debut for
In 1959 he was selected as captain for the Rest of South Africa against the Currie Cup champions,
Despite the success, Van Jaarsveldt was never picked for South Africa again. This was attributed to his lack of ability to speak Afrikaans (which the selectors did not know of when he was selected) and
In 2019, following the death of Claassen, Van Jaarsveldt became the oldest living former Springbok
Test history
No. | Opponents | Results (SA 1st) | Position | Tries | Dates | Venue |
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1. | Scotland | 18–10 | Flank (c) | 1 | 30 April 1960 | Port Elizabeth
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Coaching and administration
Van Jaarsveldt also coached the Rhodesian team from 1967 to 1970, where he once received criticism from the New Zealand All Blacks coach for instructing Rhodesia to shirt-pull and obstruct All Black players.[12] He was president of the Rhodesia RFU in 1979. As the president of the Rhodesian Rugby Football Union, he ran Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country to black majority rule. In 1979 following the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, he called for a meeting of all national sporting bodies to determine a unified approach to any potential name changes which included possibly dropping Rhodesia from their names. This meeting did not occur as several bodies preferred to unilaterally decide on their own names.[13] In 1980, with the newly renamed Zimbabwe Rugby Union, Van Jaarsveldt led an unsuccessful campaign against the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe's announcement that Zimbabwe was to sever all sporting connections with South Africa due to their apartheid policies.[14][15] In the run up to this decision, Van Jaarsveldt did approach the Rugby Football Union on Zimbabwe's tour of England, their first outside of Africa and as a result of the Surrey Rugby Football Union touring Rhodesia the previous year, to see if Zimbabwe could affiliate with England.[16]
Personal life
Van Jaarsveldt was born in
See also
- South African rugby union captains
- List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 354
References
- ^ a b "The London Gazette – Supplement: 42870 Page: 24". The London Gazette. Government of the United Kingdom. 28 December 1962. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ "Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ "Scotland tour 1960". ESPN.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ a b c Heenop, Albert (1 November 2020). "Bok-kaptein hoor hy moet óók afrig" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d Richards, Huw (23 April 2010). "A forgotten milestone". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780869202173.
- ^ ISBN 9780864866608.
- ^ Dobson, Paul (6 January 2019). "A Springbok Great Has Died". Rugby365. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "Oldest living Bok captain turns 87". News24.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "Bok captains immortalised". The Herald. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2021 – via Pressreader.
- ^ "Hartsfield roars to life". News Day. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ISBN 9780561000961.
- ^ Sub-Saharan Africa Report. 2121–2127. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1979. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ISBN 9781868421213.
- ^ "Mugabe's SA threat". The Guardian. 8 March 1980. Retrieved 3 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Frost, David (23 September 1980). "Big day for Zimbabwe". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lottery decides Senate seat". The Morning Press. 20 April 1983. Retrieved 3 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- "Monthly sitrep" (PDF). Rhodesian Services Association Incorporated. July 2011. p. 5.