Jean-Luc du Preez

Jean-Luc du Preez

Personal information
Born	5 August 1995 Durban, South Africa
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	113 kg (17 st 11 lb)
School(s) attended	Kearsney College, KwaZulu-Natal
University	Sharks Academy
Relatives	Robert du Preez (father), Robert du Preez (brother), Dan du Preez (brother)
Club information
Playing position	Flanker
Current club	Sharks
Youth career
2008–	Sharks
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Pts)^†
2015–	Sharks (Currie Cup)	10	(0)
2015–	Sharks	8	(5)
Representative team(s)^‡
2012–13	S.A. Schools	5	(5)
2014	S.A. Under-20	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 1 May 2016. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 1 May 2016.

Jean-Luc du Preez (born 5 August 1995 in Durban, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Sharks.^[1] His regular position is flanker.

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 and a further three appearances in 2013, scoring two tries in their match against Border.^[2]

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,^[3] Wales^[4] and England^[5] and in 2013 he made appearances against France^[6] and Wales, in which game he also scored a try.^[7]

In 2014, he was included in the South Africa Under-20 squad that played at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand. He played off the bench in their 61–5 victory over Scotland^[8] and started their next match against hosts New Zealand, helping South Africa to a 33–24 win.^[9] He sustained a blow to the head during the match^[10] and missed their final pool match against Samoa^[11] and their 32–25 semi-final match against New Zealand.^[12] He recovered in time for the final against England and played off the bench just after half-time, but could not prevent South Africa losing the match 20–21 to finish the competition as runners-up.^[13]

He returned to domestic action to play a key part in the Sharks U19 side that played in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship; he made twelve appearances and scored tries a total of seven tries,^[14] including two in their match against Golden Lions U19,^[15] to help them qualify for the semi-finals, where they lost 20–43 to the Blue Bulls U19.^[16]

In 2015, he was again named in a 37-man training squad for the South Africa national under-20 rugby union team^[17] and started for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team in April 2015.^[18] He was included in the squad that embarked on a two-match tour of Argentina.^[19] He didn't feature in their 25–22 victory over Argentina,^[20] but started their 39–28 victory a few days later.^[21]

Upon the team's return, he was named in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.^[22] He started all three of their matches in Pool B of the competition; a 33–5 win against hosts Italy,^[23] a 40–8 win against Samoa^[24] and a 46–13 win over Australia^[25] 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 started 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.^[26] He played off the bench in their third-place play-off match against France, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to secure third place in the competition.^[27]

Sharks

Du Preez made his provincial first class debut on 21 March 2015, starting the match for the Sharks XV in their 53–0 victory over the Border Bulldogs in the opening match of the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition.^[28] He also started their matches against Free State XV^[29] and Boland Cavaliers^[30] and played off the bench against the SWD Eagles.^[31]

References

1. "SARU Player Profile Jean-Luc du Preez". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
2. "Match Breakdown: Border vs KwaZulu Natal". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
3. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs France". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
4. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales". South African Rugby Union. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
5. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs England". South African Rugby Union. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
6. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs France". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
7. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Wales". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
8. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
9. "Match Breakdown: New Zealand vs South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
10. "Junior Boks call on reinforcements". Rugby365. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
11. "Match Breakdown: Samoa vs South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
12. "Match Breakdown: South Africa vs New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
13. "Match Breakdown: England vs South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
14. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2014 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
15. "Match Breakdown: Golden Lions U19 vs Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
16. "Match Breakdown: Blue Bulls U19 vs Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
17. "Junior Bok training squad confirmed". South African Rugby Union. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
18. "Match Breakdown: Varsity Cup XV vs South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
19. "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
20. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 25 a 22". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 12 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
21. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 39 a 28". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
22. "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Championship in Italy". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
23. "Match Breakdown: Italy U20 vs South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
24. "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
25. "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
26. "Match Breakdown: South Africa U20 vs England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
27. "Match Breakdown: France U20 vs South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
28. "Match Breakdown: Cell C Sharks XV vs Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
29. "Match Breakdown: Cell C Sharks XV vs Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
30. "Match Breakdown: Cell C Sharks XV vs Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
31. "Match Breakdown: SWD Eagles vs Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.