Gerhardus Jacobus Labuschagné (born 5 December 1995) 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 ...

player who plays for the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its fi ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Of ...

(MLR). He previously played for

Yamaha Júbilo Shizuoka Blue Revs (formerly the Yamaha Júbilo) are a rugby union team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan. The team came second behind Toshiba Brave Lupus in the second season of Japanese rugby's Top League (2004–05). They were coached by form ...

in the Japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly 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 absorbing the ...

. He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, centre, wing or fly-half.

Rugby career

Youth rugby and Free State XV

Labuschagné was born in

Springs Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

and went to high school in nearby

Brakpan Brakpan is a mining town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. History The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water and was probably referred to as the "brakpan," and it was nea ...

. However, he was never selected to represent his local team at any provincial schoolboy tournaments. After high school, he moved to

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape ...

, where he was included in the squad. In July 2014, a video went

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

of Labuschagné successfully kicking a penalty from 80m out during a training session at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

. He made nine starts in the

2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2014 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Grou ...

, appearing in the right wing, fullback and outside centre position during the season and scoring six points with the boot during a season that saw his team finish in second position, before losing their semi-final match 22–29 to eventual champions, . Labuschagné was included in the squad that played in the

2015 Vodacom Cup The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa ...

competition. He made his first class debut on 18 April 2015, starting as the right wing in their 50–45 victory over the in Round Four of the competition. He made two more starts – against the in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and against in Bloemfontein – but failed to score any points for his team. He played at Under-21 level in the second half of the season, following up a start for the in their victory over the team with three appearances as a replacement. The first of those came against during the regular season of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, as the team finished second on the log to qualify for the title play-offs. He also came on as a replacement in their 27–22 victory over in the semi-final, and in the final against , which the side from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

convincingly won 52–17. Labuschagné was included in the wider training group for the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

, but made no appearances in that competition. Instead, he once again represented the Free State XV, this time in the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the ...

series that effectively replaced the

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 ...

. He made two starts; a start at inside centre in a 35–15 win against the was followed by a start at fullback against the other team form the Eastern Cape, the . Labuschagné scored his first senior points in this match, kicking two conversions in a 22–18 victory. He was once again in action for the team in the 2016 edition of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, playing in all six of their matches during the regular season. The team finished in fourth spot on the log to qualify for a semi-final, but Labuschagné did not feature in their 23–26 defeat to Western Province. However, the 46 points he scored during the regular season – through tries against and , fifteen conversions and two penalties – made him his side's top scorer during the competition, and fifth overall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labuschagne, Gerrie South African rugby union players Living people 1995 births Sportspeople from Springs, Gauteng Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Free State Cheetahs players Golden Lions players Pumas (Currie Cup) players Shizuoka Blue Revs players Houston SaberCats players