Jean Droste (born 21 January 1994) 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 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 the in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is lock, but he can also play as a flanker.

Rugby career

2007–2014 : Youth rugby / Blue Bulls

Droste was born in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. He was selected to represent the Pretoria-based as early as primary school level, when he played for them at the 2007 Under-13 Craven Week. He didn't win any call-ups at high school level, but joined the Blue Bulls academy after finishing school. He made nine starts and two appearances as a replacement in the s' Under-19 Provincial Championship campaign in 2013, appearing both as a lock and a flanker. He scored tries in home victories over and as the Blue Bulls won all twelve of their matches during the regular season to finish top of the log, before beating the Leopards in the semi-final and the Golden Lions in the final to secure the title. He found his involvement more limited for the s in the

2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...

, making just one start and three appearances off the bench. One of those were in their 23–19 semi-final win over the s, but he didn't feature in the final, in which the Blue Bulls beat 20–10 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

2015–present : Sharks and UKZN Impi

Droste moved to

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 ...

for the 2015 to join the . He made his first class debut in May 2015, starting the 's

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

match against the 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 ...

, his only appearance in the competition. He made seven appearances for the in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship, as the team finished in third place to qualify for the title play-offs, coming on as a replacement in their semi-final defeat to the s. At the start of 2016, Droste played some

Varsity Shield Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

rugby for . He started seven of eight matches, scoring a try in a 63–30 victory over . His team won seven of their eight matches and would have finished joint-top of the log with , but they had 12 points deducted for fielding an ineligible player, therefore missing out on the title play-offs and a shot at promotion to the

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...

. He made three more first class appearances for the in July 2016 during the

Currie Cup qualification Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

series, as they finished in tenth place on the log. He was also included in the squad for the

Currie Cup Premier Division Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

, and he made his debut at that level in a 27–34 defeat to in Round Five of the competition. He was an unused replacement against the , but made a second appearance in their 53–0 victory over the . Despite being in the top two on the log for the majority of the series, a defeat to the in the final round of the season saw the Sharks drop out of the top four altogether, finishing in fifth place and missing out on a semi-final spot. At the end of October 2016, Droste was included in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

squad for the 2017 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Droste, Jean South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births Rugby union players from Pretoria Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players Blue Bulls players Green Rockets Tokatsu players Free State Cheetahs players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Munakata Sanix Blues players