Dean Bradley Hall (born 2 September 1977) is a South African former professional

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player. He played on the wing. He played the majority of his career for the Johannesburg based teams, 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 Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup and 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 ...

Super Rugby 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 ...

. Later in his career he moved to Durban and played for the in the Currie Cup, the Natal Wildebeest in the Vodacom Cup and the Sharks in Super Rugby. He was also capped thirteen times for the Springboks and scored four test tries. His career was hampered with injury and he never reached his full potential. He was quite large for a wing, but in the wake of Jonah Lomu's sensation at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

, it was hoped that Dean Hall would become the Springbok's massive wing.

Early life and youth career

Dean Hall was born in Springs, in the Gauteng Province of South Africa on 2 September 1977. He went to Selection Park Primary School and then to Springs Boys High School. He played for

Pirates Rugby Club Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

in Gauteng. In 1996 Hall was selected for the South Africa U/23 team. He got selected for the under 23's again in 2000 when they competed in the African Rugby Championships. In 1997 and 1998 he played for the Golden Lions U/21 team, even though he got selected for the Golden Lions' senior team to play in the Currie Cup as early as 1997.

Senior career

1997 to 1998

In 1997 while still eligible for age-group rugby, Hall was selected in the Golden Lions senior squad for the Currie Cup. He was not selected in the senior team in 1998, but continued to play for the Golden Lions U/21 team.

1999 to 2000

Hall started playing Currie Cup rugby in 1999 and became a regular starter for the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup as well as the Vodacom Cup. In 2000 he was selected for the Cat's Super Rugby squad. He went on to play 26 Super Rugby games for the Cats. He scored 20 tries for the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup season, which is fifth on the list of most tries scored in a season by a Lions player. In

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 shootin ...

, while Hall was part of the Golden Lions' team, they won the Currie Cup. Hall came on as a replacement during the final, which the Lions won 33-9 against the Sharks in Durban.

2001

In 2001 Hall continued to play Super Rugby for the Cats and gained instant fame when he flattened Highlanders back

Iliesa Tanivula Iliesa Samusamuvodre Tanivula (born 20 September 1975) is a former New Zealand sevens player and the current coach of the Fiji sevens team. Tanivula could play most positions in the backline. He mainly played at centre, wing or fullback. Play ...

on his way to the tryline. This good form resulted in him being selected for the Springboks, ahead of veteran winger Pieter Rossouw. Jake White who was the Springboks' assistant coach at the time mentioned that Hall selection was to increase the skill level of the team in general and was viewed as a powerful statement of intent of Bok coach

Harry Viljoen Harry Viljoen is a South African former rugby coach and player. He coached the provincial teams of the Transvaal, Natal, and Western Province, before being appointed as coach of the South African national side. He retired as Springboks coach afte ...

's plan to utilise the full width of the pitch in his game plan. On 16 June 2001, Hall made his test debut against at his home ground, Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks lost the game 23-32. Hall was again in the team the following week at Kings Park in Durban when the Springboks changed it around and ran out winners, 20-15. Hall played in all South Africa's Tri Nations games of

2001 Tri Nations Series The 2001 Tri Nations Series was contested from 21 July to 1 September between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Wallabies won another thrilling game at Stadium Australia in Sydney with number eight Tout ...

, but failed to score a try. He was also selected for the Springboks' end of year tour to France, Italy, England and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Hall scored his first test try in a 54-26 victory over at the

Luigi Ferraris Stadium The Stadio comunale Luigi Ferraris, also known as the Marassi from the name of the neighbourhood where it is located, is a multi-use stadium in Genoa, Italy. The home of Genoa C.F.C. and U.C. Sampdoria football clubs, it opened in 1911 and is ...

in Genoa on 17 November 2001. His other try of the tour came against the at the Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas.

2002 to 2004

From 2002 to 2003 Hall continued to play Currie Cup rugby for the Golden Lions and Super Rugby for the Cats. Hall fell out of favour with the Springbok coaches in early 2002 and

Breyton Paulse Breyton Paulse (born 25 April 1976 in De Keur, Koue Bokkeveld) is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Africa, scoring 26 t ...

was preferred at left wing with Stefan Terblanche at right wing in the mid-year tests against and . He was selected to play in the South Africa A team which faced Argentina on 26 June

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

in Witbank. A game South Africa A won 42-36, thanks to two tries scored by Hall. One of these tries came three minutes after the final hooter, to deny the Argentinians victory. Argentina led 36-35 before Hall's try. Paulse, coming back from injury, struggled with his form in the tests against Wales and Argentina and was replaced by Hall for the test against at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on 6 July 2002. Hall scored 2 tries in a 60-18 victory for the Springboks. He also played in the first Tri Nations game of the season, against the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. South Africa lost this game 41-20 with Hall picking up an injury. He was replaced by Paulse the following game against in Brisbane. Hall played both games during the home leg of the tournament against Australia and New Zealand. The game against Australia on 17 August 2002 at Ellis Park turned out to be his last game in a Springbok jersey. Although he was part of the Golden Lions' Currie Cup squad during 2002, he was injured before the Currie Cup semi final and subsequently did not go on tour with the Springboks for their 2002 end of year tour. In 2003 he was recovering from a serious knee injury. He formed part of the Cats' Super Rugby squad, but injuries kept him on the sidelines for the majority of his remaining career. He never fully recovered from this serious knee injury and was never again selected for the Springboks. According to one doctor who examined him in 2002, his knee cartilage had turned into that of a pensioners.

2005 to 2007

In a bid to revive his career, Hall moved to the . He was included in the Sharks' Super Rugby squad for 2005, but failed to make the team for any Super Rugby match. In 2006 he played Vodacom Cup rugby for the Natal Wildebeest and was part of the Currie Cup squad. In total he played seven games for the Durban-based team, including a Sharks Invitational XV who faced the Western Force in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

in June 2006 in preparation for the Currie Cup. At the start of the 2006/2007 Japanese season, Hall joined the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan. Hall went on to earn 12 caps for Ricoh during the season.

After retirement

Hall has remained involved with rugby, being involved in rugby development in previously disadvantaged communities. In 2011 he was also involved in an Advanced Players and Coaches course at St Stithians College in Bryanston, hosted by The Investec International Rugby Academy, where young rugby players aged 16 to 18 spent time with top coaches and players. He currently runs his own business Solo chemicals in Johannesburg

Honours

;

* Currie Cup: 1999

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Dean 1977 births Living people Black Rams Tokyo players Golden Lions players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Sharks (rugby union) players South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players People from Springs, Gauteng White South African people South African people of British descent South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan South African expatriate sportspeople in Japan Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Gauteng