Robert Brian Skinstad (born 3 July 1976) is a former

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 it ...

professional player who has represented the

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 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 ...

. He played in the positions of flanker and number eight.

Education

Skinstad lived in

Kloof Kloof is a leafy upper-class town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater Durban area ...

, KwaZulu-Natal while he attended Highbury Preparatory School, he also attended Fores in Rondebosch, before boarding at Hilton College. His university studies took him to

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

where he lived in the Simonsberg men's residence and captained the 'Maties' (University) 1st side.

Early career

Skinstad was selected by Western Province for 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 Super 12, and went on to captain both sides. He then moved to Johannesburg and played the 2003 season for the Golden Lions (Currie Cup) and the Cats (Super 12) before leaving for the United Kingdom. Skinstad was eligible to represent 3 countries at international level: Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ireland, through his Irish mother Alana who hails from County Louth.

Springboks

Having represented South Africa at all levels, including captaining the under 21 Springbok side in 1996 and 1997, and playing for the SA Sevens team in 1997, Skinstad made his début for the Springboks as a replacement on 29 November 1997 against

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 ...

. In all he played 42 tests for the Springboks, scoring 11 tries. His inclusion in the 1999 World Cup squad at the expense of successful captain Gary Teichmann was highly controversial in South Africa, and although South Africa finished third in the competition there were many who believed that Teichmann should have been retained as captain for that tournament. Skinstad carried a leg injury into the competition, and made little impression. Skinstad captained the Springboks in 12 tests, since 24 October 2003.

Semi-retirement in Britain

In January 2004 Skinstad terminated his contract with SA Rugby and signed with Newport Gwent Dragons in Wales, for whom he played just 9 games. He then worked with a group, including businessmen

Johann Rupert Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Af ...

and

Wayne Huizenga Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He founded AutoNation and Waste Management Inc., and was the owner or co-owner of Blockbuster Video, the Miami ...

trying to take over an English club in London and played part-time for Richmond in England's London South-East Division 1. He was also a regular player for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

and has captained them on several occasions. In December 2006 Bob played alongside his friend, former Scottish international

Kenny Logan Kenneth McKerrow Logan (born 3 April 1972) is a retired Scottish rugby union player who played wing for Stirling County RFC and Glasgow District at amateur level; Glasgow Warriors, Wasps RFC and London Scottish at professional level; and ...

in the Dubai 7's for 'Stefan BHF' to raise awareness for the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

in memory of the late Stefan Czerpak, ex England colts Newbury RFC and Richmond RFC rugby coach who died in 1998 from a heart attack. Dubai 7's Stefan BHF team 2006

Skinstad started his own sports management company, Esportif, as a joint venture with Saatchi & Saatchi based in their London headquarters. He has worked as an analyst and occasional presenter covering the Super 14, Currie Cup and NPC Tournaments for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

Return to South Africa

After months of speculation about a return to professional rugby, Skinstad returned to Super 14 rugby in 2007 playing for the Sharks. He made his return coming off the bench against the Highlanders in New Zealand, and went on to make another 9 appearances, including a substitute's role in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. He was rewarded with a recall to the Springbok training camp in May 2007, and when

Danie Rossouw Daniel Jacobus Rossouw (born 5 June 1978) is a South African former professional rugby union footballer who played as a second row forward or back row forward. He played for the Bulls in the Super Rugby competition. Rossouw made his provincia ...

was taken ill, Skinstad was named on the bench for the second test against

on 2 June, continuing a remarkable comeback. He then was chosen as captain for the Boks' 2007 Tri Nations match against Australia on 7 July, when coach

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tr ...

rested several senior players in preparation for the World Cup. An experienced Boks side took a surprising 17–0 lead before fading to lose 25–17. Despite suffering a broken rib in the Australia match, Skinstad would see his comeback capped off on 21 July with selection to the South Africa squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He only played and captained one full game in South Africa's winning campaign, and made three further appearances as a substitute. He retired from professional rugby on 6 November 2007. On 21 October 2013 Bob was appointed as Tourism Brand Ambassador for the Cape Whale Coast region 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 ...

, South Africa. This region is made up of the following towns; Hermanus, Gansbaai, Stanford, Kleinmond and Hangklip.

Honours

*Currie Cup: Winner (with

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 ...

) 1997, 2000, 2001. Finalist 1998 *Superrugby (with

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

): Finalist 2007. *Tri-Nations: Winner (with

) 1998 *World Cup: Winner (with

) 2007. 3rd place with

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

References

External links

*
SA Rugby Hall of Fame profileNewport Gwent Dragons Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinstad, Bobby 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Bulawayo Zimbabwean people of British descent Dragons RFC players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa) Alumni of Highbury Preparatory School Richmond F.C. players Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa White Rhodesian people South African people of Irish descent South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in England Zimbabwean expatriates in England South Africa international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of South Africa Commonwealth Games competitors for South Africa