Juandré Kruger (born 6 September 1985) 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 ...

footballer, contracted to Rugby Club Toulon in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. His preferred position is at

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

although he has also played in the back row.

Career

Early provincial career in South Africa

He is widely regarded as one of the best up-and-coming second-row forward prospects in South African rugby. He started his career off at

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

, representing them in the 2007

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 ...

. From there he moved to

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls) is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versfe ...

, competing for them in the 2008

. He also featured for the Blue Bulls in the 2008 Currie Cup, at times being preferred to

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

internationals

Victor Matfield Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and South African rugby union captains, captained the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team (Springboks) as ...

and

Bakkies Botha John Philip "Bakkies" Botha, (born 22 September 1979) is a South African former professional rugby union player who played as a lock for the Springboks until 2014. He was a member of the national team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Franc ...

. Kruger was an unused replacement in the Final of the 2008 Currie Cup, against the .

Northampton Saints

Kruger then made the move to

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", ...

. He enjoyed a successful partnership with

Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe (born 20 November 1974 in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine rugby union player. He last played with English side, Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership. He has also represented Argentina on numerous occasions, incl ...

. In his first season at the club, he won the ECC. In his second and final season, he featured in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

, played in a Guinness Premiership Semi Final and won the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

Return to The Bulls

Kruger re-joined the Blue Bulls in 2010.

Racing Metro

In 2013 Kruger made the move with his family to Paris joining

club

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to ...

Springboks

On 2 June 2012, Juandré Kruger was called up to the Springbok squad for the first time for the inbound series against England. This was his first National selection. On 6 June, it was announced by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer that Kruger would start at lock (number 5) for the first test of the series against England in Durban on 9 June 2012 . This would mark Kruger's debut for South Africa. With South Africa running out 22-17 victors in the first test Kruger had made a good start to the series. He played all three matches. In the second game South Africa won 36-27 thanks to a late try from Pietersen but were held to a 14–14 draw in the final test.

Honours

: 2015–16

References

External links

* *
Northampton ProfileBulls Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Juandre 1985 births Living people South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union players from Cape Town Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players Northampton Saints players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union locks Afrikaner people Stellenbosch University alumni Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium Racing 92 players RC Toulonnais players Scarlets players