Gerhardus Jacobus Labuschagné (born 5 December 1995) is a South African

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 plays for the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR). He previously played for Yamaha Júbilo in the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

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 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 and went to high school in nearby

Brakpan Brakpan is a mining town on the East Rand of Gauteng, South Africa, approximately 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) east of Johannesburg. History The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water ...

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

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 included in the squad. In July 2014, a video went viral 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 (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

. 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. Gr ...

, 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 Afr ...

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 London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

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 is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

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 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 Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

, 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 Rugby union players from Springs, South Africa 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 South African expatriate rugby union players in Japan 21st-century South African sportsmen South African expatriate rugby union players in the United States