Andries Thomas "Andre" Markgraaff (born 23 December 1956) is a retired

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

lock. He matriculated at Diamantveld High School 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 Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

and the then

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

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

. He became president of Griquas in 1991. In 1996, Markgraaff was appointed as the

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

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 The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

and then to the semifinals of the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

, 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