Johannes Lodewikus 'Wikus' van Heerden (born 25 February 1979 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

) is a South African former

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 it ...

player who played as a flanker. He finished his career playing for the Lions in Super Rugby, and the Golden Lions in the national

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. Van Heerden also won 14 caps for the South Africa national team, the Springboks. Before his move to the Bulls, he was the captain of the Cats (now known as the Lions). He announced his retirement during the

2012 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 74th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 11 August to 27 October 2012. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

season.

Career

Van Heerden made his debut for the Springboks on 7 June 2003 as flanker against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

at Kings Park in

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 ...

. South Africa won the match 29 points to 25. He played at flanker for the second Test against the Scottish a week later at Ellis Park, which South Africa also won, 28 to 19. He was subsequently including in South Africa's 2003 Tri Nations Series squad. He played against the Wallabies at Newlands, which the Springboks won 26 to 22. He also played against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

at Loftus Versfeld, and was a reserve in another match against Australia at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

, both of which the Springboks lost. Van Heerden had a good

2007 Super 14 The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. Th ...

campaign with the Bulls as the team's specialist fetcher. His best game was in the Bulls’ 92–3 win against the Reds at Loftus, scoring two tries in the process. This led to him being selected into the Springboks. In July 2007, Van Heerden played his first Test in four years, against the Wallabies in Sydney. He played very well in this match, being regarded as the best Bok forward, albeit in a second string Springbok XV. He was equally impressive in the match against the

in Christchurch a week later. These performances lead to his inclusion in the Springbok's victorious 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. On 16 May 2008 it was confirmed that he would join Guinness Premiership side Saracens in November 2008 following his Currie Cup commitments with the Bulls. He scored a try on his debut for Saracens in a 27–14 defeat against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a Association football, football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is the home of Reading F.C., Reading Football Club, who play in the E ...

on 23 November. On 18 March 2010, it was confirmed that Saracens had released him to return to South Africa where he would play for the Lions. This was a surprise, as Saracens had indicated he would see out the season with the club. In his first super rugby season back in South Africa he broke his arm but was back for the first match of the Curriecup. Unfortunately he broke his arm again in exactly the same place in this match, putting him out for several weeks. His father is former Springbok

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 ...

Moaner van Heerden Johannes Lodewikus 'Moaner' van Heerden (born 18 July 1951) is a former South African rugby union international player. He played as a lock. His son, Wikus van Heerden, is also a South African international who played for Saracens in the Guinn ...

Honours

* 2007 Super Rugby winner ( Bulls) * 2007 Rugby World Cup winner (

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 ...

) * 2011

winner ( Golden Lions)

References

External links

Wikus van Heerden
on the Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame

on sarugby.com
Lions profileWikus van Heerden to Captain Lions TeamProfile on Saracens official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Heerden, Wikus 1979 births Living people Rugby union players from Johannesburg Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Rugby union flankers South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Saracens F.C. players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England South African expatriate sportspeople in England 2007 Rugby World Cup players Alumni of Hoërskool Waterkloof