Meyer Swanepoel

Meyer Swanepoel
Personal information
Born (1989-05-07) 7 May 1989
Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
School(s) attended Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch
University Eta College
Club information
Playing position Flanker / Number eight
Youth career
2005–2007 Western Province
2008–2010 Sharks
Amateur team(s)
Years Team
2011 Maties 6 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Pts)†
2010 Sharks XV 3 (0)
2011–2014 Mogliano 71 (50)
2013–2015 Benetton Treviso 21 (5)
2016 Western Province 5 (5)

* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 23 July 2016.

† Appearances (Points).

Meyer Swanepoel (born 7 May 1989 in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who most recently played with Western Province.[1] His regular position is flanker or eighth man.

Rugby career

Western Province (youth)

He attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, where he rugby and earned provincial selection to represent Western Province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2005 and the Under-18 Academy Week in 2007. After finishing high school, Swanepoel and Paul Roos Gynmasium captain Lambert Groenewald both moved to Durban to join the Sharks academy.[2]

Sharks

Swanepoel started eight of the Sharks U19 team's matches in the 2008 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring a try against Free State U19,[3] and three of the Sharks U21 team's matches in the 2009 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

He was named in the Sharks XV squad for the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition and made his first class debut by playing off the bench in a 26–17 victory over Free State XV in their Round Three match in Empangeni.[4] He made a further two appearances as a replacement, coming on in a 10–16 defeat to the SWD Eagles in Oudtshoorn[5] and a 35–20 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Pietermaritzburg.[6]

He rejoined the Sharks U21 squad in the latter half of the year, making twelve appearances in their thirteen matches in the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A. He scored a total of six tries during the competition; he got two in their 106–3 victory over Boland U21[7] one in both of their matches against Blue Bulls U21[8][9] and further tries against Free State U21[10] and Leopards U21.[11] The Sharks won nine of their matches during the regular season to finish in third position on the log, but a third defeat to the Blue Bulls U21 team in the semi-final saw them eliminated from the competition.[12]

Maties

Swanepoel failed to break into the Sharks' Currie Cup squad and returned to Stellenbosch to represent their university side, Maties, in the 2011 Varsity Cup competition. Despite winning the first three editions of the competition in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Maties struggled in the 2011 edition and finished in fifth position, missing out on a semi-final spot, with Swanepoel making six appearances.

Mogliano

Swanepoel then moved to Italy, where he was contracted by National Championship of Excellence side Mogliano prior to the 2011–2012 season. He played in sixteen of their eighteen matches during the regular season – starting fourteen of those – and scored five tries to help Mogliano finish in third spot.[13] He also started both legs of their semi-final against I Cavalieri, but an 18–16 victory in the second leg wasn't enough to overturn their 24–29 first leg defeat and they failed to progress to the final.

He scored three tries in nineteen appearances during the 2012–2013 regular season, helping Mogliano to finish in fourth position to again qualify for the semi-finals. He started all their matches in the play-offs; an 18–8 victory over table-toppers Viadana in the semi-final first leg proved crucial as Mogliano qualified for the final despite a 6–13 defeat in the second leg. Swanepoel played the full 80 minutes of the final as they avenged their semi-final defeat to I Cavalieri the previous season by winning 16–11 to win their first ever Italian title. In addition to the Italian league, Mogliano's semi-final spot in 2011–2012 also saw them qualify for the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup. Swanepoel featured in all six of their matches in the competition, but a torrid season saw them losing all six of their matches, scoring just four tries and conceding 52.

Swanepoel remained a regular for Mogliano in 2013–2014 as they sought to defend their title; he scored two tries in twenty appearances during the season, as they once again finished in the top four to qualify for the semi-finals, before being eliminated by Rovigo after losing in both legs of the semi-final. Swanepoel also featured in five of their matches in the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup, where they once again lost all six of their matches.

Benetton Treviso

During his final season at Mogliano, Swanepoel was also drafted into the Benetton Treviso squad during their Pro12 campaign. He made his Pro12 debut in their Round Thirteen match against Welsh side Scarlets and also marked the occasion with his first try eleven minutes from time in a 33–41 defeat.[14] Swanepoel featured in two more matches during the season – against the Ospreys and Ulster – as his side finished in eleventh spot on the table.

He earned a permanent contract with Benetton Treviso for the 2014–15 Pro12 season and made fourteen appearances for his side, five of those being starts. In addition, he also played in the European Rugby Champions Cup for the first time; he made four appearances, playing in both legs against Racing Métro 92 and in defeats to the Ospreys and the Northampton Saints.

Western Province

Swanepoel was released by Benetton Treviso at the end of the 2014–2015 season and he returned to South Africa. He was included in the Western Province squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series[15] and played off the bench in their first match of the competition, scoring a try in a 30–16 victory over the Blue Bulls.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Meyer Swanepoel". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Mylpaal vir twee rugbyspelers". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State u19 27-27 Sharks u19". South African Rugby Union. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks XV 26-17 Free State". South African Rugby Union. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD 16-10 Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks XV 35-20 Boland Kavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks 106-3 Boland". South African Rugby Union. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks 16-20 Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 51-31 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks 51-25 Free State". South African Rugby Union. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks 57-27 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 39-35 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rugby - Player statistics Swanepoel Meyer - club stats". It's Rugby. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Scarlets survive spirited Italian fightback". Pro12 Rugby. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "SA Rugby Squad – DHL Western Province : 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30-16 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
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