Gerhardus Hermanus Hendrikus 'Gerrie' Sonnekus (born 1 February 1953) is a former 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 career

Sonnekus finished his schooling in Welkom and studied at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

. He played his first provincial match for the Free State in 1974 and continued to represent the union until 1985. During his career with the Free State he played in five

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 ...

finals, being on the losing side in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

he was a member of the Free State team that won the Currie Cup final against Western Province and gained is winners medal when he went on as a replacement for

Eben Jansen Eben-Haeser Jansen (born 5 June 1954 in Griekwastad, Northern Cape, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Jansen played for the Free State in the South African Currie Cup competition. He made his test debu ...

during the match. With his retirement at the end of the 1985 season, Sonnekus was the Free State record holder for most matches of 160, most matches as captain of 63, most tries of 69 and most Currie Cup matches of 104. Sonnekus played three

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for the Springboks. His first test was the third tests in the series against the 1974 Lions team captained by

Willie John McBride William James McBride, CBE, better known as Willie John McBride (born 6 June 1940) is a former rugby union footballer who played as a Lock (rugby union), lock for Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He pla ...

, played at the Boet Erasmus Stadium in Port Elizabeth, when he was selected as scrumhalf. His second test match was almost ten years later, once again at the Boet Erasmus Stadium, this time as number 8 against

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 ...

. He then played in the second test against the English, at Ellis Park and scores his first test try during the match.

Test history

Accolades

Sonnekus was one of the five nominees for 1985 SA Rugby player of the Year award. The other nominees for the award were

Jannie Breedt Johannes Christoffel Breedt (born 4 June 1959) is a South African former rugby union player. Playing career Breedt played for Northern Transvaal and Transvaal in the South African provincial competitions. He made his debut for Northern Transv ...

, Schalk Burger Snr.,

Danie Gerber Danie Gerber (born 14 April 1958 in Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player, who played for South Africa between 1980 and 1992. He played mainly at inside or outside centre, but also on the wing. His ...

and the eventual winner of the award, Naas Botha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnekus, Gerrie 1953 births Living people South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Free State Cheetahs players People from Setsoto Local Municipality Rugby union players from the Free State (province) Rugby union number eights

Playing career

Test history

Accolades

See also

References