Liam Chad Hendricks (born 31 May 1994) 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

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 Rugby Challenge. His regular position is prop.

Rugby career

Western Province

As a scholar at

Paarl Boys' High School Paarl Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl (also known as Boishaai) is one of the oldest schools in South Africa, built in 1868. The school is situated in Paarl, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The ...

, Hendricks was eligible to represent at youth level. He played for them at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in

Upington Upington ( Nama: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of ...

in 2010 and two years later, he played at the premier high school rugby union tournament 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 ...

held 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 ...

. After finishing school, he joined the Western Province Institute and he was a key member of their Under-19 team that played in the

2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

, playing in all twelve of their matches during the competition, starting ten of those and scoring a try in an 18-all draw against . It was a disappointing season for his team though, as they finished in fifth position on the log to miss out on a semi-final spot despite being the defending champions. At the start of 2014, Hendricks represented the

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

-based in 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 ...

competition. He played off the bench in all seven of their matches during the regular season as they qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of finishing in third place on the log. He was promoted to the starting line-up for the semi-final, but ended on the losing side as fellow

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

side won the semi-final 20–8. In the second half of 2014, Hendricks was a member of the team that ended 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 ...

as losing finalists. Hendricks' involvement was limited, however, making just two appearances off the bench. Hendricks had a far bigger role in the s' 2015 season though, appearing in all fourteen of their matches during the competition. He made three starts and nine appearances off the bench during the regular season, scoring a try in their 51–22 victory over in Round Seven of the competition. He helped Western Province to win ten of those matches to finish top of the log and qualify for a home semi-final against . He came on as a replacement in their 43–20 victory, as well as in the final, in which they beat 52–17 to win the competition.

Eastern Province Kings

In 2016, Hendricks was signed by the

-based

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 ...

franchise, the . He managed to play one game for the , starting against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in what is to be his only

appearance thus far. They loaned him to the

side and he made his first class debut on 30 April 2016, starting their 31–18 victory over

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n side the in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

. Hendricks made his home debut a week later, starting for the Eastern Province Kings in their home match against the , and he scored a crucial try on the half-hour mark to help his side to a 19–14 victory over the team from

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 ...

Griquas

Hendricks moved to

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 ...

during 2016 to join .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, Liam 1994 births Living people Eastern Province Elephants players Griquas (rugby union) players Yacare XV players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Rugby union players from Bellville, South Africa Rugby union props South African rugby union players Southern Kings players Western Province (rugby union) players