Neil Claassen (born 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 ...

, South Africa) 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 last played for the . His regular position is lock or flanker.

Career

Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

He was a member of the Eastern Province side that participated at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2008. His performance in the tournament also earned him an inclusion in an Under-16 Elite Squad in the same year. He played for youth sides for

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 ...

-based side, the . He played for the side in the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship, also captaining the side. He progressed to the squad and started 25 matches for them during the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Under-21 Provincial Championships, also scoring six tries for them during the 2013 competition to make him his side's top try scorer for the competition. This six-try haul also included a brace against eventual champions . In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he represented

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 ...

side , scoring three tries in seven starts for the university side.

Free State Cheetahs

Claassen's first class debut came during the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Division ...

competition. He started two matches for the during the competition, a 34–30 victory over the and a 30–32 defeat to the in

Bredasdorp Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agu ...

a week later. He made a further seven first class appearances during the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and Fi ...

and also scored his first try in their match against the . After his spell with in the

2014 Varsity Cup The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-u ...

, he returned to the side to make three appearances towards the end of the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition, weighing in with one try in their 54–17 win against the . He was included in their

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 ...

squad for the first time prior to the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claassen, Neil South African rugby union players People educated at Daniel Pienaar Technical High School Living people 1992 births Rugby union players from Pretoria Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Free State Cheetahs players 21st-century South African sportsmen