Hennie van Zyl
| Full name | Hendrik Jacobus van Zyl | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 31 January 1936 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bovenste Oog, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Hendrik Jacobus van Zyl (born 31 January 1936) is a South African former rugby union international.[1]
Born on a farm outside of Ventersdorp, van Zyl learnt his rugby while in boarding school. He was a winger known for his long strides and made his provincial debut for Transvaal in 1959.[2]
Van Zyl was capped in 10 Tests for the Springboks, scoring two tries on debut to help them to a win over New Zealand at Ellis Park in 1960. On the 1960–61 tour of Europe, van Zyl played in three of the Tests, before having to return home as his father had been killed in a lightning strike.[3] He scored a hat-trick against Australia in his second last Test match.[4]
In 1962, van Zyl left the Springboks to play rugby league.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Heenop, Albert (11 August 2019). "Flank-blits versool tot vleuel". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans).
- ^ "Hennie van Zyl". rugby365.com.
- ^ "Flash Kills Springbok's Father". Evening Standard. 23 January 1961.
- ^ Westhuizen, Gert van der (16 August 2002). "History favours SA at Ellis Park". News24.
- ^ "5 Springboks Sign For New RL Club - Report". Sunday Mercury. 4 February 1962.