Andries Thomas "Andre" Markgraaff (born 23 December 1956) is a retired South African rugby union lock. He matriculated at

Diamantveld High School Hoërskool Diamantveld is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and the oldest Afrikaans school in Kimberley. Beginnings It was founded on 28 January 1935 on the then clos ...

and was a controversial national coach, who resigned after he was taped using the racial K-word.

Playing career

Markgraaff was selected for the South African team in 1986 against the

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

but as an unused substitute. Markgraaff also represented

Western Transvaal The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

, Western Province, Griqualand West and the then South West Africa in 20 games. He captained the South African Barbarians on a tour to Europe and the Junior Springboks.

Coaching

In 1988, he became coach of Griqualand West. He became president of Griquas in 1991. In 1996, Markgraaff was appointed as the Springbok rugby coach. In 1997 Markgraaff was forced to quit after his controversial racial statements, when he referred to a black senior rugby administrator

Mluleki George Mluleki Editor George (2 February 1948 – 5 January 2021) was a South African activist, politician and sports administrator. He served as a Deputy Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2008. Political career George joined the banned African Natio ...

as a "kaffir". In his apology, Markgraaff said :"''I'm not making any excuses. I was very emotional at the time. I apologise to the black people of this country and to the whites for causing them embarrassment.''" During his short reign the Springboks won eight and lost five tests. In 1998, Markgraaff took the

Griquas The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...

to victory in the Vodacom Cup and then to the semifinals of the Currie Cup, losing by 11–27 to the .Griquas and Cheetahs meet in pick of the Currie Cup action
Scrum.com, 20 July 2005 He also coached the

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and was a founder of the PUK Rugby Institute. Markgraaff made a comeback in rugby administration and was the Deputy President of SARFU and the convener of SARFU's technical committee.

References

1956 births Living people Leopards (rugby union) players North-West University alumni Politics and race Rugby union and apartheid Rugby union controversies Rugby union players from Kimberley, Northern Cape South Africa national rugby union team coaches South African rugby union coaches {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub

Playing career

Coaching

See also

References