André Johan Joubert (born 15 April 1964 in

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queensl ...

) is a former South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player, widely known as "The Rolls-Royce of Fullbacks" for his pace, class, and seemingly effortless style. He was capped 34 times at fullback 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 1990s, and amassed 115 test points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions.

1995 Rugby World Cup

Joubert played a major role in the Springboks' success at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

held in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, most notably turning in an outstanding performance in the 15-12 win over 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 198 ...

in the final, despite playing with a broken hand. The quarterfinal almost proved to be the end of Joubert's World Cup when his hand was broken in contact with

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...

player

George Harder George Harder (born 22 June 1974) is a Samoan former professional rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He usually played at wing or centre Career Club career He played for Te Atatu and then, for Waitemata at club level and Auckland in ...

. That same night he went for surgery and spent time in a decompression chamber.

Domestic career

While a student at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

, Joubert made his debut for the in 1986. In 1992 he moved to and continued to represent the union, that later was renamed the Sharks, until 1999. Joubert was first choice fullback for the during the inaugural

Super 12 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 ...

competition in 1996, helping them reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

against the

Auckland Blues The Blues (known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 2000) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by ...

. Also, in 1996, he was man of the match against the then , in the Currie Cup final as he scored two tries. Joubert won three Currie Cups: '92, '95 & '96. He played his last competitive rugby match in the 1999 Currie Cup Final for the against the Gauteng Lions, a match which also saw the final appearances of

Gary Teichmann Gary Hamilton Teichmann (born 9 January 1967) is a retired South African professional rugby union player. He played number eight and captained the South African national team, the Springboks, between 1995 and 1999. Teichmann stands 1.95 metres ...

and

Ian McIntosh Ian McIntosh is a Zimbabwean rugby union coach. He served as head coach for the Springboks during 1993 and 1994. McIntosh grew up near Bulawayo. McIntosh never played for his country as a player but became acquainted with coaching in the 197 ...

as captain and coach respectively. It was a sad farewell for three of Natal's favourite sons as the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

lifted the cup with a convincing 32–9 victory.

International career

He made his international debut, aged 25, in 1989 against a World XV in a game the

won 20–19. His final international appearance came in 1997, in a 61–22 demolition of Australia, the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

Test history

World Cup Final ''Legend: pen = penalty (3 pts.); con = conversion (2 pts.), drop = drop kick (3 pts.).''

Other accomplishments

He was twice (1991 and 1994) shortlisted for the South African "Player of the Year" award, eventually winning in 1996. In 1988, he was one of the five SA Young Players of the Year, along with

Kobus Burger Jacobus Marthinus 'Kobus' Burger (born 31 March 1964) is a South African former rugby union player that played two tests for the Springboks. Playing career Burger matriculated at Paarl Gymnasium in 1981 and represented the Western Province (ru ...

, Jacques du Plessis, Christian Stewart and JJ van der Walt. Apart from playing for the Springboks and Sharks he has also played for the following teams: **

South African Barbarians South African Barbarians is an invitational rugby union club styled along the lines of Barbarian F.C. It was formed in 1960 by Frank Mellish, the former 1951–52 Springbok selector and manager, together with former Natal Rugby Union President, ...

(1992) **

British Barbarians The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

(1992) ** French Barbarians **World XV (1992) **South African Sevens 1992–1994

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert, Andre South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players 1964 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players People from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal University of the Free State alumni Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Free State Cheetahs players South Africa international rugby sevens players South African people of French descent White South African people Rugby union players from KwaZulu-Natal Rugby union fullbacks