Zane Kirchner (born 16 June 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. Previously he played at fullback for the Bulls in

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 ...

and the

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 ...

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 ...

. Born in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

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 ...

, Kirchner attended PW Botha College in his home town, for whom he played at

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– ...

; he was first selected at fullback for the 2002

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 ...

. He began his provincial rugby career with the

Griquas The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...

, and made more than 50 appearances for the side between his Currie Cup debut in 2003 and his move to the Blue Bulls in 2007. In five years with the Blue Bulls, Kirchner has made 64 Currie Cup appearances and scored 64 points. He made his debut for the Bulls (Super Rugby) franchise in 2008, and since then he has made a total of 81 appearances and scored 105 points. He won the

in 2009 and the

title in 2009 and 2010. In April 2013, it was announced that Kirchner would be leaving the Bulls to join Irish team

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

on a two-year deal. On 31 May 2014, Kirchner scored two tries as Leinster won the Pro-12 final to take the 2013–14 title. On 7 March 2017, Kirchner signed for Welsh region and Pro12 rivals the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

ahead of the 2017–18 season.

References

External links

*
Zane Kirchner
on Grundlingh Enslin's Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame

on itsrugby.co.uk
Dragons squad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchner, Zane 1984 births Living people People from George, South Africa South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Cape Coloureds Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players Griquas (rugby union) players Leinster Rugby players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland South African expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Dragons RFC players Rugby union players from the Western Cape