Andries Hendrik Snyman (born 2 February 1974) is a 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 ...

former player and current coach. His usual position was inside centre, but he had success on the wing at international level. Snyman earned 38 test caps for the

South Africa national rugby union team 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 ...

, before retiring from playing in 2007. Snyman has been coaching rugby in the United States since 2011.

Playing career

Snyman was born in Newcastle, South Africa. Snyman made his Springbok debut in 1996 against 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 ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He went on to play 38 times for the Springboks and played his final international test match against Scotland in June 2006. He played for the

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls) is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versf ...

from 1995 to 1999 and then joined the from 2000 to 2003. Snyman joined English club

Leeds Tykes Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...

for the 2003 season. During his time at Leeds he helped them win the

2004–05 Powergen Cup The 2004–05 Powergen Cup was the 34th annual rugby union cup competition in England. Leeds Tykes won the competition for the first time in their history. The event was sponsored by Powergen and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium. This wa ...

, in the final of which he scored a try. He later moved to France, signing with

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France ...

for the 2006–07 season. However, Snyman returned to the Tykes on loan in December 2006 in order to help their National Division One campaign. He made his debut for the Tykes against Northampton, the same day England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He scored one of the Leeds tries in the famous Powergen Cup Final against Bath, intercepting a pass from 80 m. Snyman finally retired from professional rugby at the end of the 2007 season. In 2012 and 2013, Snyman represented the United States of America at the Rugby World Classics Tournament in Bermuda. Snyman represented the South African sevens team at the

1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament and the first to be held in Hong Kong. It was the last major sporting event to be held in the then British dependency before the transfer of sovereign ...

in Hong Kong where they lost to Fiji in the final, 24–21.

Test history

Coaching career

Snyman moved to the United States in 2011 and helped coach the

Glendale Raptors The American Raptors is a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition . Established as the Glendale Raptors in 2006, the team was a found ...

, 2011's D1 club champions. In 2012, Snyman assumed the role of head coach. In 2014, Snyman led Glendale to an 11–1 regular-season record and into the finals of the Pacific Rugby Premiership, where they lost to San Francisco Golden Gate. In 2015, Snyman and the Glendale Raptors won the Pacific Rugby Premiership Championship, beating San Francisco Golden Gate, 25-11, after going 9-3 in regular season. Snyman was named Coach of the Pacific Rugby Premiership by This Is American Rugby for the second year running in 2015. In 2016, Snyman and the Glendale Raptors won the Pacific Rugby Premiership, once again beating San Francisco Golden Gate, 44-20, making them back to back Pacific Rugby Premiership Champions. Snyman was also used as a defensive specialist for the USA Sevens team under head coach

Matt Hawkins Matthew Hawkins (born 30 March 1983) is a South African born, former American rugby union player and former coach of the United States sevens team. Playing career Hawkins played loose forward for the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club when he f ...

. Snyman formally coached

Hill House School Hill House International Junior School is an independent preparatory day school primarily in the Knightsbridge district of London. It was founded in September 1949 by athlete and Liberal Party politician Lt-Col Stuart Townend with his wife, Bea ...

where he was the head of rugby and was accompanied b
Chris Rose

Honours

* Powergen Cup/Anglo-Welsh Cup titles: 1 **2005

References

External links