Johannes Frederick Klopper "Hannes" Marais (born 21 September 1941) is a former South African rugby captain. He was capped 35 times, scoring one try.

Personal history

Marais was born in the town of Somerset East and grew up on a farm near

Cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...

. He attended Gill College in Somerset East, a school that also produced the Springbok brothers

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and sc ...

and

Michael du Plessis Michael Josias du Plessis (born 4 November 1958) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Du Plessis played for Western Province, Northern Transvaal, Transvaal, Eastern Province and the Springboks. He made his test debut a ...

. After school he went to study agriculture at the prestigious Stellenbosch University, with the intention of becoming a veterinarian. Later on he did his doctorate at the University of Port Elizabeth, the forerunner of the

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Afr ...

Rugby career

In his schooldays he was a loose forward, but was converted into a prop by

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

when he went to Stellenbosch. At provincial level, he represented Western Province as well as now-defunct North Eastern Cape and Eastern Province. He won his first cap against Australia in 1963 and his last against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1974. He became captain in 1971 after having served as vice-captain in 1970. After retiring from first-class rugby, he continued to play for his hostel team at university for five seasons and stopped playing altogether just shy of his 40th birthday.

Life after rugby

After his retirement from playing, he coached the University of Port Elizabeth's as well as the Eastern Province under-20 sides and was also the assistant coach to the Eastern Province senior team for a while. He served as a Springbok selector from 1982 through 1986, and then again from 1993 up to the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

References

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External links