André Neal Vos (born 9 January 1975) is a former South African rugby union player who played as a loose forward for Eastern Province (South Africa), Queensland Reds (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

), The Cats, The Lions and Harlequins (England) until his retirement in 2007.

Rugby career

He also captained the Springboks. Vos attended

Selborne College Selborne College is a semi-private English medium male-only high school situated in the suburb of Selborne (the suburb was named after the school) of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; it is one of the few colleges in the ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, South Africa (he represented Border at the 1992 Craven Week) and the then University of Port Elizabeth. He represented South Africa at the U21 and at under 23 level. He made his senior provincial debut for Eastern Province (then coached by Alex Wyllie) in 1995, and played 35 matches for that province in 1995 and 1996. He played for the Golden Lions in 1997. In 1998 he wore the Queensland Reds' jersey in the

Super 12 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 ...

earning 11 full caps for the Australian franchise. He returned to South African shores in 1998 to play for 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 ...

in the Super 12 and for the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

in the South African Currie Cup. He made his international debut against Italy in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

on 12 June 1999 as a replacement. The final score was 74-3 in favour of the Springboks. He was in the starting 15 for the next match in Durban. He was in and out of the starting 15 for the next eight test matches, starting in only three. After the IRB Rugby World Cup in 1999 he took over the captaincy of South Africa from Joost van der Westhuizen. He went on to earn 33 test caps for South Africa (6 as substitute), 16 as captain. He scored 5 tries for South Africa. His international career record is: played 33, won 18, drew 1, lost 14. Vos retired from international rugby in 2002, saying, "Physically I am no longer up to Springbok rugby."

Harlequins

Vos signed for Harlequins in 2002. In 2004, he captained the side to there

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

victory, beating

Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

, at the time known as Montferrand, 27-26 in the final. In 2006, he captained the side as they won promotion from the RFU Championship back to the Premiership.He captained the side for three years until he resigned at the end of the 2005/6 season, when Paul Volley took over. He was able to obtain a free transfer to England, as his English-born wife Caroline holds a British passport.

References

External links

Statistics
at Barbarianfc.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Andre 1975 births Living people Alumni of Selborne College Barbarian F.C. players South African expatriate rugby union players in Australia South African expatriate rugby union players in England Golden Lions players Harlequin F.C. players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players University of Port Elizabeth alumni Queensland Reds players Rugby union players from East London, South Africa South Africa international rugby union players South African rugby union players White South African people Rugby union number eights 1999 Rugby World Cup players