Michael Thomas van Vuuren (born 28 September 1991) is an English qualified, 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 ...

footballer. His regular playing position is hooker.

Career

Youth and Varsity rugby

He was schooled at

Grey High School Grey High School is a State school, semi-private English-medium high school (grades 8 to 12) for boys situated in the suburb of Mill Park in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the top sporting schools in the coun ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

and matriculated in 2009. He played in the Grey first team in 2008 and 2009, alongside

Siya Kolisi Siyamthanda "Siya" Kolisi , (born 16 June 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team. Having formerly played for the and Racing 92, he currently plays for Sharks in the URC. ...

who is also an Old Grey. He has also played

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each unive ...

rugby for in the

2012 Varsity Cup The 2012 Varsity Cup was contested from 6 February to 9 April 2012. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-univ ...

Free State Cheetahs

He represented 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 ...

and

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 ...

in 2011 and 2012.

Stade Français

Van Vuuren joined French Top 14 side

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

ahead of the

2012–13 Top 14 season The 2012–13 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2011–12 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Grenoble and Stade Montois in pl ...

, signing a two-year deal until June 2014. He made his debut for

Stade Francais Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the west of Hamburg and b ...

in the French Top 14 as a replacement against

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

on 4 May 2013.

Eastern Province Kings

Van Vuuren returned to South Africa to join

-based side prior to the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is ...

. He was named on the bench for the Eastern Province Kings' Round Three match against the in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He had an eventful debut for the EP Kings as he came off the bench shortly after half-time, was sent to the

sin bin The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not ...

within ten minutes of coming on and scored a try just after his return to the field. Van Vuuren left the Eastern Province Kings in December; financial problems and non-payment of salaries at the Eastern Province Rugby Union resulted in all players being given the option to terminate their contracts and Van Vuuren exercised this option, announcing that he would leave the side and seek legal advice regarding the unpaid salaries.

Leicester Tigers

Shortly after leaving the Eastern Province Kings, Van Vuuren joined

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 ...

for a month-long trial period, and represented Leicester Tigers A in the

Aviva A League The Premiership Rugby Shield was launched in 2003 as the Premiership Rugby A League. It runs parallel to the Premiership Rugby seasons. Split into north and south pools, it comprises twelve sides. The clubs select players from their academy and ...

. Van Vuuren extended his stay at Welford Road until mid-March 2016 and made his debut for the

in the English Premiership in a 47–20 home win against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

on 28 February 2016.

Bath

Van Vuuren joined

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

prior to the 2016–17 English Premiership season. Van Vuuren made his debut for the club against

Section Paloise Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The ...

on 15 October 2016. Van Vuuren played 4 games and 104 minutes in the 2017/2018 season for Bath Rugby

London Scottish

Van Vuuren joined London Scottish on loan for a single match in the

2016–17 RFU Championship The 2016–17 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the eighth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the R ...

, and again joined the team on loan in September 2017.

Northampton Saints

Van Vuuren joined

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Ealing Trailfinders

He joined

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

side

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the reigning RFU Championship champions of 2024–25 but were considered ineligible for promotion to Premiership Rugby a ...

ahead of the 2020–21 season.

Representative rugby

Van Vuuren was a member of the South Africa Under-20 team that competed in the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby' ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Vuuren, Michael 1991 births Living people Afrikaner people Alumni of Grey High School Free State Cheetahs players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from East London, South Africa South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players South African rugby union players Stade Français Paris players Eastern Province Elephants players Bath Rugby players London Scottish F.C. players London Irish players Northampton Saints players Bedford Blues players Ampthill RUFC players Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club players Wasps RFC players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Golden Lions players Newcastle Falcons players South African expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century South African sportsmen