Eli Colin Snyman (born 25 January 1996) is a Zimbabwean

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

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 ...

in England's

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 ...

. He previously played for Italian side in the Pro14, and for the and in South Africa. His regular position is lock.

Rugby career

2009–2014 : Schoolboy rugby

Snyman was born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, where he attended St. John's Preparatory School. In 2009, he was selected to represent Zimbabwe's Under-13 side in the South African Craven Week competition, starting all four of their matches in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

. At secondary school level, he attended St. John's College, and was once again selected to represent Zimbabwe at the Craven Week competition for high schools in 2014. He started all three of their matches at the tournament held in Middelburg.

2015 : Blue Bulls Under-19 and Under-21

Snyman's performances were noticed by the and he signed an academy contract with the

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

-based side, joining their intake for the 2015 season. He was named in the Blue Bulls Under-19 squad that participated in the 2015 Under-19 Provincial Championship, chosen to be vice-captain and started eight of their twelve matches during the regular season of the competition. He scored one try in the competition, in a 42–24 victory over the team, helping the Blue Bulls to finish in second spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals. Snyman also made one start and one appearance as a replacement for the team at the end of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, but rejoined the Under-19 team for the title-ply-offs. He started their 30–29 victory over in their semi-final match, as well as the final, but he could not prevent the Blue Bulls losing 23–25 the s. While missing out on silverware, he received a personal accolade, being named the Under-19 Forward of the Year at the Blue Bulls' end-of-season awards ceremony.

2016–2019 : Blue Bulls, UP Tuks and South Africa Under-20

At the start of 2016, Snyman linked up with – the Pretoria-based university side affiliated to the Blue Bulls academy – for the

2016 Varsity Cup The 2016 Varsity Cup was contested from 8 February to 11 April 2016. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-unive ...

competition. He started all of UP Tuks' matches in the competition; he made seven appearances during the regular season which saw Tuks qualify for the title play-offs by virtue of finishing in fourth position and also started the semi-final, which his side lost 11–49 to in Stellenbosch. In March 2016, Snyman was included in a South Africa Under-20 training squad, and made the cut to be named in a reduced provisional squad a week later. On 10 May 2016, he was included in the final squad for the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in England by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations took part in the tournamen ...

tournament to be held in

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. Snyman started all five of their matches in the competition; after a 59–19 come-from-behind victory over

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in their opening match in Pool C of the tournament, South Africa were beaten 13–19 by

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in their second match, but bounced back to secure a 40-31 bonus-point victory over

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in their final pool match to secure a semi-final place as the best runner-up in the competition. South Africa then faced three-time champions

in the semi-finals, but the hosts proved too strong for South Africa, knocking them out of the competition with a 39–17 victory. Another loss in their final match – 19–49 to

in the third-place play-off – condemned South Africa to fourth place in the competition. Upon his return to South African shores, Snyman was named in the squad for 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 and he made his domestic first class debut by coming on as a replacement in a 95–12 victory over

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 their final match in the competition. Snyman's debut in the Premier Division of 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 ...

followed less than a month later, when he came on for the final thirteen minutes of their 45–26 victory over . Snyman was named 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 ...

side the ' extended training squad for the 2017 season.

2019–2021 Benetton

Snyman joined Italian Pro14 side for the

2019–20 Pro14 The 2019–20 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness Brewery, Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It was the third season to be ...

and

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''PRO ...

seasons.

2021– Leicester Tigers

It was announced on March 8, 2021 that Snyman would join

for the 2021-22 season. Snyman made his debut for Leicester on 18 September 2021 as a substitute in a 34-19 win against Exeter Chiefs.

References

External links

Eli Snyman's Blue Bulls profile

Eli Snyman's profile on SA Rugby

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyman, Eli Colin 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Harare Alumni of St. John's College (Harare) Zimbabwean rugby union players South African rugby union players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union locks