Casper Steyn (born 13 September 1973) is a South African former professional

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.

Biography

Born in

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial city with approximately 95,000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. V ...

, Steyn was a versatile goal-kicking back and spent much of his career playing 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 and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...

, often remembered for his performance against the 1997 British Lions. He contributed 20 of his team's 35 points, kicking three conversions and three penalties, to go with one try, making Northern Transvaal (as they were them known) the first South African province to beat the Lions in the professional era. A prolific scorer for the Blue Bulls, Steyn amassed 854 points from 59 matches, including a team record 252 points in the 1999 Currie Cup. Steyn played his rugby in Italy with

Viadana Viadana may refer to: Surname * Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar * Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater Other * Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lomba ...

from 2001 to 2005. He scored all 19 of the team's points in the final of the 2003-04

European Shield The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competiti ...

final against Montpellier, which they ended up losing 25-19. He later returned to serve as head coach. He competed briefly for the Pumas in the Currie Cup, before being forced into retirement in 2006 due to a serious neck injury. In 2010, Steyn survived a near fatal car accident close to his home in Centurion, suffering cranial damage after being flung from his vehicle. He ended up in a coma, from which his family was advised there was only a 10 percent chance he would wake. Able to recover, Steyn had five metal plates inserted to his face as part of his reconstructive surgery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Casper 1973 births Living people South African rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Sportspeople from Vanderbijlpark Rugby union players from Gauteng Blue Bulls players Bulls (rugby union) players Rugby Viadana players South African expatriate rugby union players in Italy South African rugby union coaches