Adriaan Jacobus Van der Berg Coertzen (born 16 October 1990 in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

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 ...

) is a South African

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 in the

Rugby Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

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 ...

. His regular position is winger or fullback.

Career

Youth rugby

Playing his high school rugby at Grey College in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, Coertzen was selected in the Free State squad that played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament in 2006. In 2008, he was a member of the Free State's Under-18 Academy Week team. He progressed to the side that played in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship and then played for the side in the 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

Free State Cheetahs

Coertzen made his first class debut in the 2011 Vodacom Cup. He was an unused substitute in their match against the in Ermelo, but made his debut the following week at home to the , coming on as a substitute during the second half of their 38–24 victory. He made his starting debut in their next match against

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 the 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 ...

and took just two minutes to open the scoring to set the Cheetahs on their way to a 29–13 victory. One more start followed in their next match against the , but that turned out to be his last involvement with the first team for 3 years, instead playing club and

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 ...

rugby with the . In August 2014, Coertzen was a surprise inclusion for the in their opening match of the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

season against newcomers the .

Griquas

After spending the

2015 Currie Cup qualification The 2015 Currie Cup qualification tournament was a competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which featured seven teams and was played between 12 June and 25 July 2015. The winner of the tournament would qualify for the 2015 Currie Cu ...

series on loan at Kimberley-based side – making six appearances – he signed for them on a permanent basis for the 2016 season.

Aurillac

Coertzen moved to French

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

side after the 2018 Currie Cup Premier Division.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coertzen, AJ South African rugby union players Living people 1990 births

Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Free State Cheetahs players Rugby union players from the Free State (province)