Phillippus Jacobus Mostert (30 October 1898 – 3 October 1972) was a South African

rugby union player 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 ...

and 16th captain of the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerse ...

. He predominantly played in the forwards as prop, but could also play lock.

Early life

Mostert was born 30 October 1898,

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

, South Africa. His father joined the Boer forces to fight for South African independence, and was killed in the Battle of Colenso, Natal, during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(15 December 1899). Mostert, his mother (Anna Francina Mostert) and 7 siblings (Martha, Gerbrecht, Johanna, Catherina, Francois, Frederik and Willem) were removed from their family farm in Krugersdorp (2 May 1901) and placed in a camp and remained there until the end of the war (15 October 1902). After release from the concentration camp, Mostert and his family moved down to the Western Cape to live with his maternal aunt.

Career

Mostert started playing rugby at the age of thirteen and joined Somerset West RFC, where he was selected for the first team in 1918. Later he captained the team for nine seasons in a row, from 1923 to 1931. In 1920 Mostert was chosen for to play 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 ...

competition. He also competed in the Currie Cup competitions of

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

and

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

, and during the 1927 competition he scored six tries and kicked a drop goal. In 1929 Mostert captained Western Province, which again won the Cup. Mostert debuted for the Springboks on 13 August 1921, against New Zealand in Dunedin. He played as tighthead prop in the first and second test matches and then moved to hooker for the third test. The second test series in which Mostert played was the 1924 test series against the touring team from the British Isles. During the second test in the series, he scored his first and only test try. In 1928 New Zealand toured South Africa and Mostert was named captain of the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. He played twice as a loosehead prop and twice as hooker in the test series which was shared 2 all by the teams. In 1931–32 Mostert toured with the Springboks to Britain and Ireland, playing last international match against Scotland at Murrayfield on 16 January 1932. Overall Mostert played 14 international games, winning 10, losing 3 and drawing 1. He also played in 26 tour matches, scoring four tries. After his playing days, Mostert coached and acted as selector in the Western Province and in 1965 he was elected an honorary life member of the Western Province RFU.

Test history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mostert, Phil 1898 births 1972 deaths South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Gauteng Western Province (rugby union) players

Early life

Career

Test history

See also

References