JP Pietersen
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Jon-Paul Roger "JP" Pietersen (born 12 July 1986 in
Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...
, South Africa) is a South African former
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 for the in 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 ...
. He generally played fullback or wing, but occasionally he played at outside centre. He played in 69
tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
for the Springboks.


Youth and early career

Pietersen was educated at the Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog in
Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...
, but made his provincial debut with the as a 19-year-old during the 2005 Currie Cup season. His
2006 Super 14 season The 2006 Super 14 season started on 10 February 2006. The Grand Final was held on 27 May 2006. Super 14 is a provincial rugby union competition with 14 teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This season was the first of the expansion, ...
was disrupted by injuries but despite this, he was included in the South African under-21 team to compete at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. South Africa made the final, but were defeated by the hosts, France.


International career

Upon arriving back to South Africa after the under-21 World Championship he was named in the Springboks' 2006 Tri Nations Series squad where he debuted against New Zealand at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in
Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a town at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West (South African province), North West province, South Africa (549 ...
. Pietersen's deceptive pace and gliding runs make him an unpredictable back-line player, with the ability to break the line at will and create attacking opportunities for his team. He is also a clinical finisher, and was the leading try scorer in the 2007 Super 14 competition with 12 tries from 15 games. Pietersen remains a firm fan favourite for the unpredictable and exciting dimension his play brings to the team. Before the emergence of François Steyn at the Sharks franchise, Pietersen was seen as the ideal replacement for
Percy Montgomery Percival Colin Montgomery (born 15 March 1974) is a Namibian-born South African former professional rugby union player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both cap (sport), caps and points fo ...
as fullback, however with Steyn being able to play at fullback, wing or fly-half, Pietersen focused on wing as his primary position, and it is in this role that most of his appearances have been made for club and country. He was selected into the Springboks
2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...
squad. Starting in the first two matches, Pietersen scored three tries. He was impressive in the game against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, scoring two tries and setting up a third. The top try-scorer in the 2007 Super 14 failed to score even one in
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, a fact acknowledged by both AJ Venter and Stefan Terblanche in the October 2008 edition of '' SA Sports Illustrated''. However, post World Cup Pietersen went on to establish the most capped wing combination in Springbok history with Bryan Habana, standing currently at 25 tests, ten more than next best, James Small and Jaques Olivier. Aside from his obvious attacking abilities, Pietersen is widely regarded for his outstanding defence. His cover defence being the saving grace of the Springbok's 2008 End of Year Tour, manfully keeping the Welsh at bay, and dominating his opposite Shane Williams. His all-round skills remain of the highest standard, maturing into one of the best wings since South Africa's readmission to international sport. Pietersen was called up for South Africa's
2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...
campaign starting the first game in a 17–16 victory for the Springboks against Wales. South Africa then thrashed Fiji 49–3 with Pietersen this time playing on the left wing. Pietersen did not play when South Africa thrashed Namibia 87–0. He started again on the right wing as South Africa squeezed past Samoa 13–5. South Africa were then through to the quarter-finals of the world cup. South Africa were then knocked out of the tournament losing 11–9 against Australia. He has also scored 4 tries in the 2015 world cup. In April 2013, it was announced that he would play for Panasonic Wild Knights in the 2013–14 Top League in Japan, meaning he missed out on the ' 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division campaign, but would return to the for the 2014 Super Rugby season. Pietersen signed a three-year deal to join English Premiership side
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...
prior to the 2016–2017 season. However, as of 20 June 2017, Pieterson was granted early release from Welford Road to join top French club
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
in the
Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
from the 2017–18 season.


Notes


References


External links

* *
JP Pietersen at Genslin Springbok stats
* * * * **'' SA Sports Illustrated''. "Showdown at ... Quiz Creek: AJ Venter vs Stefan Terblanche." October 2008: 32. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietersen, J. P. 1986 births Living people Rugby union players from Stellenbosch Cape Coloureds South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Sharks (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Rugby union centres Saitama Wild Knights players South African expatriate rugby union players in Japan 21st-century South African sportsmen Leicester Tigers players RC Toulon players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players South African expatriate rugby union players in France South African expatriate rugby union players in England