Erich Estiaan de Jager (born ) is a South African professional

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 the

New England Free Jacks The New England Free Jacks are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in the Greater Boston area. They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). His regular position is prop. His nickname is "Tarzan" started by his teammates. He previously played for the 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 ...

Rugby career

Youth rugby

De Jager was born in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

and represented the local at various youth levels during his school career, playing at 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 ...

tournaments on two occasions – at the 2013 tournament held in

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

and the 2014 event held in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

. After school, De Jager moved to

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, where he joined the academy, playing for them at Under-19 level in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and at Under-21 level in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. He also made a few appearances for the team in

First class rugby

In 2016, he was included 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 first class debut by coming on as a replacement in their match against the in their Round Thirteen clash and making a total of four appearances for the team. After playing a further eight matches for the Free State XV in the

2017 Rugby Challenge The 2017 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – is the first edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa, and the long-term successor of the V ...

, De Jager was included in their squad for the

2017 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2017 Currie Cup Premier Division was the top tier of the 2017 Currie Cup competition, an annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was the 79th edition of the competition and was contested betw ...

, and made his

debut in their 45–34 victory over the in their Round Three match, one of four appearances in the competition. He was included in the squad for the

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as th ...

and – after being an unused replacement in their match against Welsh side the – made his

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

debut in their match against fellow Welsh side the in Newport, and his home debut in their next match against the .Report He scored his first try in first class rugby in the

2018 Rugby Challenge The 2018 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the second edition of the Rugby Challenge (South Africa), Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The c ...

, in a 33–19 victory for the Free State XV over their neighbours the . In 2020, de Jager signed with the

through to the 2022 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Jager, Erich South African rugby union players Living people 1996 births Rugby union players from Port Elizabeth Rugby union props Cheetahs (rugby union) players Free State Cheetahs players Western Province (rugby union) players New England Free Jacks players Griquas (rugby union) players