Jean-Luc du Preez (born 5 August 1995 is a 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 for in the English Premiership. He made his debut for in 2016 and his regular position is flanker, although he also plays at lock and number eight.

Early life

He was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He is the son of former coach and South Africa player Robert du Preez, and the brother of teammates Robert du Preez and

Dan du Preez Daniel du Preez (born 5 August 1995 in Durban, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the in the English Premiership. His usual position is number eight, but he can also play as a lock or flanker. Career Youth Du Preez was ...

Career

Youth

Du Preez was selected in a number of KwaZulu-Natal youth squads whilst still at school. At primary school level, he was selected for their squad that played at the 2008 Under-13 Craven Week competition. He also played in the premier schools 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 tou ...

in three different seasons; he made two appearances at the 2011 event 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 ...

, three appearances at the 2012 event 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 a further three appearances in 2013, scoring two tries in their match against Border. In both 2012 and 2013, Du Preez was selected to represent a South African Schools team. In 2012, he played in their matches against

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 ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

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and in 2013 he made appearances against

and

, in which game he also scored a try. In 2014, he was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad that played at the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

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. He played off the bench in their 61–5 victory over

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and started their next match against hosts

, helping South Africa to a 33–24 win. He sustained a blow to the head during the match and missed their final pool match against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and their 32–25 semi-final match against New Zealand. He recovered in time for the final against

and played off the bench just after half-time, but could not prevent South Africa losing the match 20–21 to finish the competition as runners-up. He returned to domestic action to play a key part in the side that played in the

2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2014 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Grou ...

; he made twelve appearances and scored tries a total of seven tries, including two in their match against , to help them qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost 20–43 to the s. In 2015, he was again named in a 37-man training squad for the

South Africa national under-20 rugby union team The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Cham ...

and started for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015. He was included in the squad that embarked on a two-match tour of

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 ...

. He didn't feature in their 25–22 victory over

, but started their 39–28 victory a few days later. Upon the team's return, he was named in the final squad for the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

. He started all three of their matches in Pool B of the competition; a 33–5 win against hosts

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 ...

, a 40–8 win against

and a 46–13 win over

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to help South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Du Preez started their semi-final match against

, but could not prevent them losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession. He played off the bench in their third-place play-off match against

, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.

Sharks

Du Preez made his provincial first class debut on 21 March 2015, starting the match for the in their 53–0 victory over the in the opening match of the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

competition. He also started their matches against and and played off the bench against the .

Sale Sharks

In November 2018, he joined the on loan until February 2019. He made six appearances and scored one try during his loan spell, which was cut short after he picked up an injury in their match against . On 18 July 2019, Sale announced that Du Preez and his brother Daniel du Preez had signed permanent deals with the club. He went on to make 27 appearances for Sale Sharks in the 2019-20 season, scoring tries against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in the Gallagher Premiership and

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

in the Champions Cup. At the end of the 2019-20 season Du Preez won the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

with Sale, starting in the final which saw Sale defeat Harlequins 27-19 Du Preez made frequent appearances for Sale in the 2020-21 season, playing for the club 21 times and scoring tries against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

and Harlequins. He also featuring in Sale's Champions Cups quarter final defeat to La Rochelle. At the conclusion of the season Sale made their first appearance in the playoffs since the 2005-6 season, with Du Preez starting in Sale's 40-30 semi-final defeat to Exeter Chiefs.

South Africa

In 2016, Du Preez was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

team. He came on as a replacement in their first match in

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 ...

, but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners. He then started the second match of the series, scoring the home team's first try in a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

. He was included in the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

squad for the 2016 Autumn Internationals on the 22 October 2016. He made his first appearance in a non-capped game for South Africa XV against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

, which ended in a 31-31 draw. His first international cap came in an appearance off of the bench against Wales on the 26 November 2016. Du Preez was initially called up to the South Africa 'A' for the

2017 mid-year rugby union internationals The 2017 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were international rugby union matches that were mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window. The m ...

, with two matches scheduled against the

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

. He was then called up to the main Springbok squad on the 27 May 2017. Du Preez featured in all three tests in

the series ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, coming off the bench in the first two and starting in the final test. South Africa won the test series 3-0. He was named in the squad for the 2017 Rugby Championship on the 5 August 2017. He played all 5 games for South Africa in the tournament, scoring tries in South Africa's win against

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

and in a close loss against

. The only game which Du Preez started was a heavy 57-0 loss to New Zealand. A fractured ankle ruled him out of the 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals. He was named in the squad for the 2018 England tour of South Africa. Du Preez started the first test against England, which South Africa won 42-39. He came off the bench in the other two tests in the series, which South Africa won 2-1. On the 5 June 2021 Du Preez was named as part of the South Africa squad for the

2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour that took place in South Africa in July and August 2021. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scot ...

. He made one appearance during the tour, starting for South Africa 'A' in a 14-17 loss to the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

. He was then released from the squad before then first test match against the Lions. He was recalled to the South Africa squad for the

2021 Rugby Championship The 2021 Rugby Championship was the ninth edition of the annual southern hemisphere competition, involving Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The Springboks returned to the tournament after a year out in 2020 due to South African ...

on the 15 August but did not feature in any of the matches during the tournament. Du Preez was named as part of the South Africa 'A' squad which would play

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

during the

2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2022 end of year rugby union tests, also known as the 2022 Autumn internationals, were a number of rugby union test matches played during the months of October and November. Some of the games were known as the Autumn Nations Series for marketin ...

International tries

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Preez, Jean-Luc 1995 births Living people Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Durban Sharks (Currie Cup) players South Africa international rugby union players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players South African rugby union players South African twins Twin sportspeople Alumni of Kearsney College South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in England