Andrew Beerwinkel (born 5 March 1993) is a South African professional

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 ...

player for the in 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 ...

and Rugby Challenge. He can play as a loosehead or tighthead prop.

Career

Youth rugby

Beerwinkel grew up in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and attended

Porterville High School Porterville High School is located in Porterville, California, Porterville, California. The school was erected in 1896. Part of the Porterville Unified School District. Has students enrolled from 9–12 grade. It is named for the city of Portervill ...

. In 2009, he was selected to represent his local provincial side, Boland, at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week competition. He also represented Boland at the premier South African high school rugby union competition, the Under-18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

, in both 2010 and 2011. His performance in the 2011 edition also led to his selection in a South African Schools side, playing one match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Blue Bulls / UP Tuks / S.A. Under-20

After high school, Beerwinkel signed a contract with

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

-based side the . He appeared in all fourteen of the s' matches during the

2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament featured the Under-19 players from the fourteen Currie Cup unions. Competition Division A There were seven participating teams in the 201 ...

, scoring one try in their 36–37 defeat to the as they finished second on the log. The started both their semi-final win against the same opposition and the final, which they narrowly lost 18–22 against in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. At the start of 2013, Beerwinkel made two substitute appearances for a side which won the 2013 Varsity Cup. He was then selected for the South Africa Under-20 that attempted to retain their

IRB Junior World Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

title in the 2013 edition held in

. He scored South Africa's first points in the competition, getting a try after just 5 minutes in their first Pool A match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, helping them to a 97–0 victory. He also started their next match, a 31–24 victory over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and helped South Africa finish the pool stages with a perfect record, playing off the bench in their 26–19 victory against hosts

in their final match of the pool stages. He started their semi-final match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, but couldn't prevent his side slipping to a 17–18 defeat. He was named on the bench for their final match, the third-place play-off against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, but didn't feature in the 41–34 victory as South Africa secure third spot in the competition. Beerwinkel returned to domestic action, representing the side on seven occasions during the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

. In similar fashion to his season with the Under-19s the previous year, his side made it all the way to the final, only to lose to Western Province in the final to finish the competition as runners-up. Beerwinkel once again represented in the

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, this time making seven appearances and scoring a try in their final match against the , but it proved to be a disappointing season for his side as they failed to reach the semi-finals. Three appearances followed for the side during the

2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...

and Beerwinkel also scored a try in his side's 123–7 demolition of . Despite Beerwinkel not featuring in the play-offs, the Blue Bulls went on to win the trophy, beating 20–10 in the final. Eight appearances (and a try against

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

rivals ) followed for UP Tuks in the

2015 Varsity Cup The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

, before Beerwinkel became involved 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 ...

side. He made his senior debut for the Blue Bulls in Round Five of the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

, coming on as a replacement in their 44–0 victory over

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n side in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

. A week later, he made his first start for the Blue Bulls in a 40–21 victory over the in Pretoria. Beerwinkel was named on the bench for the '

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

match against trans-

Jukskei River The Jukskei River is one of the largest rivers in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the southernmost river in the Crocodile River (West) basin. Course The Jukskei begins in Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Its original spring was on the former Doornfo ...

rivals the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beerwinkel, Andrew South African rugby union players Living people 1993 births People from Drakenstein Local Municipality Rugby union props Blue Bulls players Bulls (rugby union) players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Golden Lions players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Griquas (rugby union) players Rugby union players from the Western Cape