Gideon Johannes Stegmann (born 22 March 1986) is a South African 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, who most recently played as an openside flank for

Honda Heat Mie Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies. Conveniently, the team uses Suzuka to jog ...

in the Japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

. He made his Super 14 debut for the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

in 2008 at the age of 21. Stegmann is a classic fetcher with a low centre of gravity who is thriving under the new law interpretations- and his anticipation, together with his toughness, is a huge asset for the

. He made the number 6 jersey his own in 2008 after playing in every Super 14 match and being awarded Bulls Forward of the Year in 2008. His grandpa is famous springbok player Johannes Augustus Stegmann. He has been one of the Super Rugby's best openside flankers from 2008 to 2011. He is one of the hardest-working players in the Bulls' squad, as well as a superb team player with a very high work rate, regularly leading the tackle count, turnover and work rate stats for the Bulls. He has a time of 10.8 seconds in the 100-metre sprint. At the Bulls, Stegmann plays in a back row combination together with

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

flank, Dewald Potgieter and

number 8, Pierre Spies, winning 2 Super 14 titles in 2 successive years as well as the

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 2013, he signed a contract extension to keep him at the until 2015.

Education

Stegmann attended South Africa's top-ranked rugby school: Grey College,

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, where he was selected for the SA schools team. During high school he was a track and field athlete and played number 8 (as well as flank) in Grey College's First XV loose trio, alongside

and

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

flank

Heinrich Brüssow Heinrich Wilhelm Brüssow (born 21 July 1986) is a South African former professional rugby union player. His usual position was as open-side flanker and his most recent club was Northampton Saints in the English Premiership. He played for th ...

, and

now Irish international flank

Richardt Strauss Richardt Strauss (born 28 January 1986) is a former professional rugby union player who played as a hooker. Born in Pretoria, South Africa, he began his career with the Free State Cheetahs and played for the Cheetahs in Super Rugby before movi ...

. Tertiary education:

UNISA The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

Springbok career

In November 2010, Stegmann was called up to the Springbok squad (outgoing tours) as a replacement to injured Springbok flank and former IRB player of the year

Schalk Burger Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Jr. (born 13 April 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a Flanker (rugby union), flanker for Saracen F.C., Saracens in the English Premiership (rugby union), English Premiershi ...

, and was handed his first cap as a Springbok debutant in the starting lineup named to face Ireland on 6 November 2010. The Springboks won and Stegmann subsequently started every match on tour. South Africa obtained a result of 3–1 over the Isles, beating England and Wales and losing to Scotland.

Squads

* Free State (U/18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...

) – 2004 * Vodacom

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 ...

(

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

) – 2005 * Blue Bulls (SA Under 19) – 2005 * Blue Bulls (ABSA Under 21) – 2006 * Vodacom Blue Bulls (Vodacom Cup) – 2007 * Vodacom Blue Bulls ( ABSA Currie Cup Premier Div) – 2007 * Vodacom Bulls ( Super 14) – 2008 * Vodacom Blue Bulls (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Div) – 2008 * Vodacom Bulls (Super 14) – 2009 * Vodacom Blue Bulls (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Div) – 2009 * Vodacom Bulls (Super 14) – 2010 * South Africa (Outgoing Tours) – 2010 * Vodacom Bulls (

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

) - 2011 * South Africa (Castle Tri Nations) - 2011 * Vodacom Blue Bulls (ABSA Currie Cup Premier Div) - 2011 * Vodacom Bulls (Super 15) - 2012

References

External links

Bulls profile
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stegmann, Deon 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Cradock, Eastern Cape South African rugby union players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Afrikaner people Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Mie Honda Heat players South African expatriate rugby union players in Japan 21st-century South African sportsmen Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape