EW Viljoen (born 9 May 1995 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) 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 playing for the Johannesburg based . He previously played for the in

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 ...

and in 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 in the Rugby Challenge, while also representing the . It was announced on the 14th of July 2020 that Viljoen would be joining the . He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, winger or centre.

Career

Youth

Viljoen was noticed at primary school level, when he was selected in the Free State squad for the Under-13 Craven Week tournament in 2008. He then went to Grey College in Bloemfontein, where he was called up to a number of youth tournaments. He played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2011, where he scored 18 points in two matches against and the . In 2012, he was included in the Free State's Under-18 Craven Week squad, scoring a try against KwaZulu-Natal and he played in the competition again in 2013, this time contributing a brace in their match against the . This led to Viljoen's inclusion in the South African Schools side for the 2013 international series, where he started two matches to help the South African side to victories over

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 ...

and

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 ...

. At the end of 2013, he moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

to join . He was one of the Western Province Rugby Institute players that were invited to form part of the wider training group prior to the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. A knee injury ruled him out for part of the season, but he returned to action for the side during the

2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...

, scoring five tries in five appearances, including a brace against the .

Western Province

He was included in the senior squad for the first time for the final match of the round-robin stage 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 ...

, being named in the starting line-up for their match against the .

Leicester Tigers

On 2 July 2019, English

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

announced the signing of Viljoen ahead of the 2019–20 season.

Lions/Golden Lions

On 14 July 2020, Vijoen returns to South Africa to sign for

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

back into the

competition. He will also play for

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

and Vodacom Cup competitions.

South Africa Under-20

In March 2015, Viljoen was named in an extended South Africa Under-20 training group as part of their preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. He didn't feature in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team or their two-match tour of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, but was included in the final squad for the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

. He wasn't named in the squad for their 33–5 win against hosts

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the first of their three matches in Pool B of the competition and was an unused replacement in their next match, a 40–8 win 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 Island, Manono an ...

. He started their final match, a 46–13 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to help South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Viljoen started their semi-final match against

, but could not prevent them losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession and also started their third-place play-off match against

, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.

Cricket

Viljoen was also a cricketer at school and was called up to various Free State youth cricket teams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viljoen, EW South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births Rugby union players from Bloemfontein Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Western Province (rugby union) players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Stormers players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Golden Lions players South African expatriate rugby union players in England Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein