Ashwin Willemse (born 8 September 1981 in Caledon,

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

) is a retired

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

n rugby union player. He played at wing for the national team, the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. After winning an IRB Under-21 World Cup gold medal for South Africa in 2002, the winger set about gaining Super 12 experience with the Cats. Willemse's pace, speed and power contributed to him being selected for his test debut against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He was included in the South Africa

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

squad and scored a solo try against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. Willemse's achievements of 2003 were topped by scooping up three awards at the annual SA Rugby function - Player of the Year, Most Promising Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year. Willemse was injured for most of the 2004–2006 seasons. However, he was selected for 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 ...

squad during the 2007 international season and Tri nations, and was selected for the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. He then signed a two-year contract with

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz p ...

, joining a host of other Springboks choosing to continue their careers abroad after RWC 2007

Willemse subsequently retired from international rugby stating "there are no controversial issues around my decision at all. I love the team, and the guys are exceptional. It was such a breath of fresh air being able to return to the Lions after some time overseas last year, and it has been so exciting. I have been able to play the best rugby of my career with the Lions, and I will miss each and every one of my teammates. The time, however, has come for me to move onto the next phase of my life". In 2012, Willemse launched the GreenSmile Foundation. It is dedicated to helping educate and create better opportunities for children from socio-economic hardships. In May 2018, while providing live analysis, Willemse walked off the Supersport set, as a result of conflicts with his co-presenters,

Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was the ...

and

Naas Botha Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player, who played for Northern Transvaal and South Africa (the Springboks). He was voted ''Rugby Player of the Year'' in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. B ...

. Willemse insinuated that his actions were a result of racism on the part of Mallett and Botha. An independent enquiry into the incident disproved the allegations.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willemse, Ashwin 1981 births Living people People from Theewaterskloof Local Municipality Cape Coloureds South African people of Dutch descent Rugby union wings South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Biarritz Olympique players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France South African expatriate sportspeople in France South Africa international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players Rugby union players from the Western Cape