Fabian Connal Frazer Booysen (born 21 March 1992) 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 who last 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 ...

and Rugby Challenge competitions. His regular position is flanker or number eight.

Career

2009–2010 : Craven Week and South Africa Under-18

Booysen attended Hoërskool Florida in

Roodepoort Roodepoort is a town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly an independent municipality, Roodepoort became part of the Johannesburg municipality in the late 1990s, along with Randburg and Sandton. Johannesburg's most famous botanical g ...

, which is in the catchment area of the . He was selected to represent them at the premier high school rugby union competition in South Africa, 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 to ...

in both the 2009 tournament held in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and the 2010 tournament in

Welkom Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The cit ...

. He scored one try in each of their matches against the and the in the 2010 event and was selected in a South Africa Under-18 High Performance squad after the tournament and Booysen represented South Africa in victories over

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 ...

and

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 ...

2011 : Under-19

Booysen joined the Golden Lions Academy after finishing school and made ten appearances for the side during the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring one try in a 25–37 defeat to their trans-

Jukskei Jukskei is a 270-year-old folk sport ( af, Boeresport) developed and played in South Africa. History Jukskei is believed to have originated around 1743 in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, developed by "transport riders" who traveled with ox ...

rivals the and helping his side finish second on the log to qualify for the semi-finals. He played off the bench in their 32–27 semi-final victory over s, as well as in the final, where they became champions by beating the Blue Bulls U21s 20–19.

2012 : Vodacom Cup and South Africa Under-18

Booysen made his first class debut on 10 March 2012 by coming on as a late replacement for the in their 2012 Vodacom Cup match against the in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

, finishing the match on the losing side as the Leopards triumphed 23–16. Booysen was then selected in the South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship, which was hosted in South Africa for the first time. He started their first match as the hosts got off to a bad start, losing 19–23 to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in Pool B of the competition. He played off the bench as South Africa recovered to beat

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 ...

52–3 in their second match and started their 28–15 victory over previously-unbeaten

to finish top of the log and qualify for the semi-finals. He started their semi-final match as they easily dispatched

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 ...

, winning 35–3, as well as the final, which South Africa won 22–16 against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to win the competition for the first time and ending New Zealand's four-year reign as champions. Booysen returned to domestic action for the s and made eight appearances during the

2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There are seven p ...

. The Golden Lions finished in fifth spot on the log, failing to qualify for the semi-finals.

2013–2014 : Under-21 and UJ

Booysen started the 2013 season representing university side in the 2013 Varsity Cup. He made five appearances for the side as they finished third on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, where they suffered a 24–61 defeat to eventual champions . Booysen made his first domestic senior start in the 2013 Vodacom Cup, suffering a 19–30 defeat to the in a competition that the Golden Lions would eventually go on to win, beating the 42–28 in the final. His performances in the 2013 Varsity Cup didn't go unnoticed and Booysen was named in a South African Universities team that played a one-off match against in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

. The South African Universities side ran out 50–39 winners. Booysen made twelve appearances for the s during the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, contributing one try in their 76–7 victory over in their final round-robin match as they finished fourth to qualify for the semi-finals. He started their semi-final match against , which required

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

to separate the teams, with Western Province eventually prevailing 44–41. Booysen's playing time in 2014 was limited to four appearances off the bench for during the 2014 Varsity Cup, which saw his side struggle, finishing second last and requiring a relegation play-off series victory over to remain in the competition. He was named in the Golden Lions' Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup squads, but failed to appear in any of their matches.

2015 : Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup

Booysen returned to first class action in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, making a single appearance in their 63–10 victory over the in Johannesburg. The Golden Lions reached the semi-final of the competition, where they lost to the . Booysen was named in the Golden Lions' squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and was included in the starting line-up for the Golden Lions' Round Two match against the Pumas.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booysen, Fabian South African rugby union players Living people 1992 births People from Theewaterskloof Local Municipality Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Golden Lions players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Rugby union players from the Western Cape