Dan du Preez

Dan du Preez
Personal information
Full name Daniel du Preez
Born (1995-08-05) 5 August 1995
Durban, South Africa
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
School(s) attended Kearsney College, KwaZulu-Natal
University Varsity College, Westville
Relatives Robert du Preez (father),
Robert du Preez (brother),
Jean-Luc du Preez (brother)
Club information
Playing position Loose forward / Lock
Current club Sharks
Youth career
2008– Sharks
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Pts)†
2015– Sharks 2 (0)
2015– Sharks (Currie Cup) 8 (20)
Representative team(s)‡
2012–13 S.A. Schools 4 (0)
2015– S.A. Under-20 5 (10)

* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 12 October 2015.
† Appearances (Points).

‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 22 June 2015.

Daniel du Preez (born 5 August 1995 in Durban, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing Super Rugby with the Sharks.[1] He can play as a lock, a flanker or a number eight.

Career

Youth

Du Preez was selected in a number of KwaZulu-Natal youth squads whilst still at school. At primary school level, he was selected for their squad that played at the 2008 Under-13 Craven Week competition. He also played in the premier schools competition in South Africa – the Under-18 Craven Week in three different seasons; he made two appearances at the 2011 event in Kimberley, three appearances at the 2012 event in Port Elizabeth – scoring a try in their match against the Free State[2] – and a further three appearances in 2013, scoring a try against Border.[3]

In both 2012 and 2013, Du Preez was selected to represent a South African Schools team. In 2012, he played in their matches against France[4] and Wales[5] and in 2013 he made appearances against England<ref name=""Match Breakdown: South Africa vs England"">"Match Breakdown: South Africa vs England". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014. </ref> and Wales.<ref name=""Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales"">"Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014. </ref>

He recovered from an injury that kept him out of the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship to play a key part in the Sharks U19 side that played in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship, making eleven appearances and scoring tries in their matches against Eastern Province U19[6] and Free State U19[7] to help them qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost 20–43 to the Blue Bulls U19.[8]

Sharks

In 2015, despite not having featured at senior provincial level for the Sharks, Du Preez was included on the bench for the Sharks' Round Five Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs.[9] He made his Super Rugby debut in the Sharks' 27–10 victory, coming on for the final ten minutes of the match.[10]

South Africa Under-20

In 2014, he was selected in the South Africa Under-20 squad to play at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship, but an injury ruled him out of the competition and was replaced by Jacques Vermeulen.[11]

In March 2015, Du Preez was named in an extended South Africa Under-20 training group as part of their preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[12] He featured for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015.[13] In May 2015, he was included in the S.A. Under-20 squad that toured Argentina.[14] He started both of their tour matches,[15][16] scoring a try in the 25–22 victory in the first encounter and was then included in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[17]

He played off the bench in the first of their three matches in Pool B of the competition, a 33–5 win against hosts Italy,[18] started their 40–8 win against Samoa[19] and again came on as a replacement in their 46–13 win over Australia[20] to help South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Du Preez came on in the second half of their semi-final match against England, but could not prevent them losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession[21] and started their third-place play-off match against France, scoring two tries in the match to help South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.[22]

Personal

Du Preez's father Robert is a former Springbok scrum-half that made seven appearances for South Africa between 1992 and 1993.[23]

He has an older brother – also called Robert – and a twin brother Jean-Luc. Both of them also represented the S.A. Under-20 side at the IRB Junior World Championship, in 2013 and 2014 respectively.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "SARU Player Profile Dan du Preez". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Free State vs KZN". South African Rugby Union. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Border vs KwaZulu Natal". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs France". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales". South African Rugby Union. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Match Breakdown: EP Kings U19 vs Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Free State U19 vs Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Blue Bulls U19 vs Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Pieter Steph du Toit injury spoils Sharks victory". Business Day. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Toyota Cheetahs vs Cell C Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Du Preez blow for Baby Boks". iafrica.com. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "SARU names large group for Junior Bok trials". South African Rugby Union. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Varsity Cup XV vs South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 25 a 22". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 12 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 39 a 28". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Championship in Italy". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Italy U20 vs South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Match Breakdown: France U20 vs South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Meet the Du Preez Trio: Robert, Daniel and Jean-Luc". S.A. School Sports. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Junior Springboks named for JWC 2014". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
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