Alistair John Hargreaves (born 29 April 1986 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

) is a 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 that played as a

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 ...

. He attended the

Durban High School Durban High School is an all-boys public school in Durban, South Africa. DHS opened its doors in 1866 in two rooms and with seven pupils in Smith Street. From there it moved to a disused granary in Cato Square in 1880, just after the Zulu ...

, where he was captain of rugby and headboy in 2004. During his time at the school Hargreaves represented the first XV from 2002 to 2004 and was regarded as one of the best talents in youth rugby. His performances led to selection for the SA schools side which he captained in 2004. Since then he has gone on to represent the SA under 19 and u/21 sides, playing at both the

Under 19 Rugby World Championship The IRB under-19 Rugby World Cup was the premier tournament for male rugby union players under the age of 19 organised by the sports governing body the International Rugby Board (IRB) annually from 2004 until 2007. Both it and the Under 21 Rugby Wo ...

in 2004 and 2005 (of which he was captain). Impressive performances in these tournaments led to more opportunities with the Sharks and over the past few years he has established himself as a regular starter. To date he has picked up four caps for the national side along while also playing in non-capped games against Leicester Tigers and Saracens. On 12 April 2012 Hargreaves signed a two-year deal with

Saracens RFC Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic P ...

. He was to link up alongside former

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 ...

including

John Smit John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a former South African rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the South Africa national team, and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World C ...

Neil de Kock Neil (Niles) de Kock (born 20 November 1978) is a retired rugby union footballer who last played at Rugby union positions#9. Scrum-half, scrum half for Saracens F.C., Saracens. He has claimed ten caps for South Africa national rugby union team, ...

and Schalk Brits. He captained Saracens to victory in the 2015 Premiership final against Bath. He announced his retirement from rugby in October 2016 after suffering multiple concussions. He then started working for Wolfpack lager, with former team-mate

Chris Wyles Chris Wyles (born 13 September 1983) was an American-English rugby union player. Until his retirement from international rugby in January 2016, Wyles had represented the United States in three World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015). He was the USA E ...

.The Daily Telegraph
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References

External links

Sharks profile
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Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame
1986 births Living people Expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Durban Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players South Africa international rugby union players South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom South African people of British descent South African rugby union players White South African people {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub