Ruan Pienaar (born 10 March 1984) 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 who currently plays either as a scrum-half or as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

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 ...

. Pienaar is the son of former Springbok fullback

Gysie Pienaar Zacharias Matheus Johannes 'Gysie' Pienaar (born 21 December 1954 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Pienaar played for the Free State and the Springboks. He made his test debut agai ...

. Ruan is regarded as a very skilful rugby player. Besides being able to pass well, he can kick with both feet, and his vision and running style moved former Springbok coach

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri ...

to compare him with Australian fly-half

Stephen Larkham Stephen Larkham (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australian rugby union professional player, currently in the role of head coach for Brumbies. He spent his career with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from the inception of the pro ...

. Pienaar has been part of u19 (2003), u21 (2005) and senior Rugby World Cup (2007) winning squads. He also won the Currie Cup in 2008 and 2019.

International career

Pienaar made his debut for 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 ...

in the 2006 Tri-Nations against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and was a member of the successful 2007 World Cup squad. As he did not play club rugby in South Africa since June 2010 it seemed unlikely that he would be called up again to play for the national team.

SARU The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board a ...

has a policy of selecting foreign based players in exceptional circumstances only. However, on 20 June 2011 it was reported that Pienaar had been named in South Africa's 49-Man World Cup preliminary training squad. Pienaar has been an ever present in South Africa squads ever since.

Club career

South Africa

Pienaar played his high school rugby 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 ...

, where he attended Grey College. He was selected for the Free State

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 ...

side in 2002. Pienaar played for in the

, the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

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 ...

prior to joining Ulster.

Ulster

Ulster announced on 27 May 2010 that they had signed Pienaar on a two-year contract. Pienaar would play in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

and

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 ...

along with fellow Springboks Johann Muller,

Robbie Diack Robbie Diack (born 12 November 1985 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South African born, Irish former rugby union player who last played for Ulster in the Pro14. He played in the back row mainly as a number eight. Career He signed for Ulster ...

Pedrie Wannenburg Pedrie Johannes Wannenburg (2 January 1981 – 22 April 2022) was a South African rugby union player. He last coached for Austin Elite Rugby in North American Major League Rugby. He played for Austin in 2018, Denver Stampede in the now defunct ...

and

BJ Botha Brendon James Botha, better known as BJ Botha (born 4 January 1980) is a South African former rugby union player. He played as a prop. Professional career Sharks Botha played in the Currie Cup and Super 14 the Sharks. He played in all 13 Sup ...

at the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

based side. He made his Magners League debut on 1 October, scoring all of Ulster's 19 points in their victory over

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. Pienaar was named at scrum half in the Magners League Team of the Year for the 2010/11 season and also scooped the Magners League player of the Year award which was voted for by his peers. Pienaar signed a two-year extension to his Ulster contract during this time. Pienaar was again selected at scrum half for the Pro12 Dream Team for the 2011/12 season and was also named captain of the side. In 2012 Pienaar played in the Heineken Cup Final, scoring 9 points in the 42–14 defeat to Leinster. In 2013 he played in the Pro 12 Final, scoring all of Ulster's 18 points in the 24–18 loss to Leinster. In October 2013 despite strong media reports linking him with

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, Pienaar signed a new 3-year extension to his Ulster contract keeping him in Belfast until the end of the 2016/17 season. No further contracts were offered due to the IRFU succession policy, limiting all four of the provinces to one foreign player per position. Pienaar's position at Ulster was untenable once Leinster signed a half back from New Zealand. He left the club as one of its most celebrated players of the professional era.

Later career

Pienaar played for

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

during the 2017/18 season before returning home to South Africa in 2019, signing with Pro14 outfit the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

where he also played

. Prior to the inaugural

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

, Pienaar was loaned to the

for the 2021/22 season as part of work carried out to ensure as many of the best South African players were playing for the South African teams in the tournament as possible.

Personal life

Pienaar is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, saying “I have always believed, with my Christianity, that there’s so much more to life than rugby,” and “Being here gives me an enormous sense of purpose. I am not just here for rugby, I’m here to touch lives.” He is the co-founder of a Bible study group for rugby players in South Africa. While playing for Ulster he regularly attended the Christian Fellowship Church on Belmont Road in Belfast.

Notes

References

External links

*
Profile with the Sharks
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pienaar, Ruan 1984 births Living people Afrikaner people South African Christians South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Rugby union players from Bloemfontein Sharks (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Ulster Rugby players South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Free State Cheetahs players Cheetahs (rugby union) players