Leolin Lucien Zas (born 20 October 1995) is a South African
rugby union player for the in
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 previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
and in the
Currie Cup and the in the
Rugby Challenge.
His regular position is winger and centre.
Career
Youth / Boland / South African Schools
Zas was selected by the to represent them at the Under-18
Craven Week competition held in
Polokwane in 2013. He started three matches for them at outside centre and scored 18 points for his side, which consisted of one try in their match against hosts
and 13 points with the boot. His performances were also noticed by the selectors of the
South African Schools team and he made two appearances for them in the 2013 Under-18 International Series; he started both their 17–13 victory against
France and match against
Wales, as a try by Zas proved crucial in a 14–13 victory.
Western Province Under-19 / South Africa Under-20
After high school, Zas joined the Western Province Rugby Institute and he represented 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 ...
. Zas started eight of their twelve matches during the regular season and scored five tries – three of those came in a single match against ,
while he also scored against in both their home
and away
matches in the competition. Western Province finished in third spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, where they met the Free State U19s and Zas scored for a third time against the same opposition in a 29–22 victory in
Bloemfontein.
He also started the final, where Western Province became champions by beating the s 33–26.
In 2015, Zas was selected a 37-man
South Africa Under-20 training squad
and started for them in a friendly match against a 2015 Varsity Cup Dream Team, scoring a try in a 31–24 victory.
He was named in their squad to tour
Argentina for a two-match series as preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
He started both their 25–22 victory over
Argentina in the first match,
and their 39–28 win in the second match four days later, scoring a second-half try for the visitors.
Upon the team's return, Zas was named in the final squad for the
2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship
The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...
.
He started all three of their matches in Pool B of the competition; a 33–5 win against hosts
Italy,
a 40–8 win against
Samoa which saw Zas score a try shortly after half-time
and their final match against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with Zas again on the scoresheet in a 46–13 win.
The results meant that South Africa finished top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record in the pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Zas also started their semi-final match against
England, but couldn't prevent them losing the match 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession.
He started their third-place play-off match against
France, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to win the bronze medal.
Western Province Under-21 / Currie Cup
Zas returned to domestic action by representing in the
2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A and he made his domestic first class debut – and his first appearance in the
Currie Cup competition – after being named in the starting line-up for 's final match of the
2015 Currie Cup Premier Division
The 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 77th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 7 August to 24 October 2015. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...
regular season against the .
South Africa 'A'
In 2016, Zas was included in a
South Africa 'A' squad that played a
two-match series against a touring
England Saxons team.
He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in
Bloemfontein,
but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.
He also started the second match of the series, kicking one conversion in a 26–29 defeat to the Saxons in
George.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zas, Leolin
South African rugby union players
Living people
1995 births
Cape Coloureds
People from Worcester, South Africa
Rugby union centres
Rugby union wings
Western Province (rugby union) players
South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players
Stormers players
Sharks (Currie Cup) players
Sharks (rugby union) players
Rugby union players from the Western Cape