Corniel Els

Cornelius Wilhelmus Els (born 19 January 1994) is a retired South African professional rugby union. His regular position was hooker.

Career

Youth / Free State

Els attended and played rugby for Grey College in Bloemfontein and was selected to represent the Free State at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2010 and once again at the premier high school rugby union competition in South Africa – the Under-18 Craven Week – held in Port Elizabeth in 2012.

Blue Bulls

After school, Els moved to Pretoria to join the academy. He was the first-choice hooker for the side in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship and started ten of their fourteen matches during the campaign and played off the bench in one further match. He scored a try in his very first match for them against the and one in each of their matches against his former side, the Free State. His performances contributed to the Blue Bulls finishing the round-robin stage of the season with twelve wins out of twelve to qualify for the title play-offs. He started both their 37–21 win against the Leopards in the semi-final and in the final, where they won the competition by beating trans- Jukskei rivals s 35–23.

At the beginning of 2014, Els represented Pretoria-based university side in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition. He played in six of their seven matches as they finished in sixth spot and outside the semi-final places. Shortly after the Varsity Cup campaign, Els was named in the South African Under-20 squad as they prepared for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand. He was not on the bench for their first pool stage match against Scotland, but failed to come on as a replacement. However, he was promoted to the starting line-up for their second match against New Zealand, helping them to a 33–24 win over the hosts, and also started their final pool stage match against Samoa as South Africa won 21–8 to qualify for the semi-finals. He started their semi-final match where they once again faced New Zealand and provided a crucial contribution in the match; with the score tied at 25–all with three minutes to go in the match, Els scored a late try which was converted by Handré Pollard to secure a 32–25 victory for South Africa and a place in the final. He also started the final, but could not prevent South Africa losing 20–21 to England to finish the competition as runners-up.

Shortly after his return to South Africa, Els was rewarded with a new contract with the Blue Bulls, keeping him in Pretoria until the end of 2016.

The following year, Els was included in the squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition. He made his domestic first class debut by playing off the bench in the final few minutes of a 20–18 victory over eventual champions the . He also came on as a replacement for the final half an hour of their next match against Namibian side the in Windhoek and scored a try within a minute of coming onto the field. He also scored a second try later in the match to help secure a 44–0 victory for the . He made his first senior start in their 83–13 win over the in their final match in the round-robin stage of the competition to help the Blue Bulls finish second in the Northern Section to qualify for the quarter-finals. Els came on as a replacement in their 44–21 quarter final victory over the , as well as their semi-final match against , which the team from Cape Town won 10–6 to eliminate the Blue Bulls from the competition.

Els was included in the ' senior squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and was named as the hooker replacement for their Round Four match against in Kimberley.

Until 2020 he played with Bulls in Super Rugby and with in the Currie Cup.

Benetton Treviso

In January 2021 Els signed for Italian team Benetton Treviso. I played until 2022−2023 season; on the 11th of Mat 2023 Els announced that he will retire from professional rugby for the consequences of a critical injury in order to became team manager for the team of Treviso.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Els, Corniel
South African rugby union players
Living people
1994 births
Sportspeople from Polokwane
Rugby union hookers
Blue Bulls players
South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players
Rugby union players from Limpopo
Bulls (rugby union) players
Pumas (Currie Cup) players
Benetton Rugby players
South African expatriate rugby union players in Italy
21st-century South African sportsmen
Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein