Clinton Theron (born 3 November 1995) 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, currently playing with

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 ...

side the . He can play as a loosehead or tighthead

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

Rugby career

Schoolboy rugby

Theron was born in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and attended Hoërskool Florida. He was selected to represent the at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011 and 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 2012, scoring a try against KwaZulu-Natal in the latter tournament.

Golden Lions

After school, he joined the academy and made nine appearances for the side in the

2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2014 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Grou ...

, scoring tries in their matches against and , both tries proving decisive in narrow victories. In 2015, he was included in the squad that competed in 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 ...

competition. He made his first class debut in

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 ...

, coming on as a second-half replacement against the in a 53–3 victory. He made his first start a week later in a 31–21 win over the in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

and made one more appearance against the in the competition. He made eleven appearances for the team in Group A of the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try against in his first start. He played some more first class rugby at the start of 2016, appearing for a in the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the f ...

series. He also scored his first try in senior rugby, scoring after 12 minutes in their 66–19 victory over the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theron, Clinton South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births People from Roodepoort Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Gauteng