Johannes Lodewyk 'Klippies' Kritzinger (1 March 1948 – 18 February 2016) was a South African

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player.

Playing career

As a schoolboy Kritzinger represented the Free State at the 1967

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 ...

tournament. He made his provincial debut for

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in 1971 and also played provincial rugby for

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

, the Free State,

Northern Free State The Fezile Dabi District Municipality (; ), formerly known as the Northern Free State District Municipality, is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The seat is Sasolburg. As of 2011, a majority of its 460,289 residen ...

and Western Transvaal. Kritzinger joined the Free State in 1975 and was appointed as captain, after which he captained his team to the

1975 Currie Cup The 1975 Currie Cup was the 37th edition of the Currie Cup, the premier annual domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The tournament was won by for the eighth time; they beat 12–6 in the final in Bloemfontein. Fixtures and Resul ...

final. In

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, although he was no longer captain, he was a member of the team that won the Currie Cup. In 1972, Kritzinger toured with the Gazelles, a South African under–24 team, to Argentina. He played in eleven of the thirteen matches on tour and scored three tries. His first test match for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

was as eighthman in the third test against the 1974

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

at the

Boet Erasmus Stadium EPRU Stadium, also known by its original name of Boet Erasmus Stadium, was a stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The letters "EPRU" in the name represent the Eastern Province Rugby Union, the stadium's historic primary tenants, whose tea ...

in Port Elizabeth. He then toured with the Springboks to France at the end of 1974, playing in both test matches and in 1975 he also played in both tests against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during their return tour of South Africa. His last test match was the fourth test against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in 1976. Kritzinger played seven tests, scoring one try and also five tour matches for South Africa.

Test history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kritzinger, Klippies 1948 births 2016 deaths South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Free State Cheetahs players Golden Lions players Sharks (Currie Cup) players People from Harrismith Rugby union players from the Free State (province) Rugby union flankers

Playing career

Test history

See also

References