Christo Johannes Bezuidenhout (born 14 May 1970) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

-born former South African international

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 ...

, that usually played as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

Biography

Born on the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

(Spain), where his father worked as a telecommunications engineer.Springboks mystery man-mountain
/ref> Bezuidenhout debut in the national rugby at

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

in 1994, only to disappear for a few years, apparently to perform agricultural work on the family farm. He reappeared in 1999, when he was contracted by the Bulls in a professional level and the Pumas in the Currie Cup. He started his career in the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in 33 against New Zealand in the

2003 Tri Nations Series The 2003 Tri Nations Series was contested from 12 July to 16 August between the national rugby union teams of Australia national rugby union team, Australia, New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union ...

Tournament; A few months later he participated in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

in Australia with only 3 appearances, which were his last international. In 2004 he moved to England to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

for a season,Gloucester capture SA prop
/ref> after which he retired from rugby.

References

External links

* *
Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame profile
1970 births Sportspeople from Tenerife Sportspeople from the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife South African rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players Living people South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union props South African expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union players from Gauteng 2003 Rugby World Cup players Bulls (rugby union) players 21st-century South African sportsmen {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-1970s-stub