Neil Kobus Maritz (born 22 February 1994) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and in the Rugby Challenge. He can play as a winger or a centre.

Rugby career

Youth rugby / Sharks XV

Maritz was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

and attended

Paarl Boys' High School Paarl Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl (also known as Boishaai) is one of the oldest schools in South Africa, built in 1868. The school is situated in Paarl, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The ...

, where he played first team rugby in 2012. He was selected in a Western Province Under-18 Elite Squad in 2011 and 2012, but wasn't selected to represent them at any major youth tournaments, such as the Craven Week. After high school, Maritz moved to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to join the academy. He was included in the squad for the

2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

and made five starts for them in the competition, scoring tries in matches against , and . In 2014, he was included in the squad that participated in the

2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Cu ...

. He made his first class debut by starting their opening match of the season against the in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. In addition to making his debut in the match, but he also scored his first senior try ten minutes into the second half, as his side won the match 46–24. He made a total of six appearances in the competition, scoring further tries against the and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n side to help his team finish top of the Southern Section log to qualify for the quarter finals. He didn't feature in their quarter final match against a , where the team suffered a 20–27 loss to be eliminated from the competition. In the second half of the season, Maritz was in action for the Sharks' Under-21 team; he made five appearances for the team in the Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring tries against and , but it wasn't enough to secure a semi-final berth as the team finished in fifth position. Maritz made three starts for the 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 Africa ...

competition. He failed to contribute any points in a disappointing season for his side, which could win just two matches in the competition to finish outside the play-off spots. The team had an improved performance in Group A of the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship, finishing in third position. Maritz started eight of their matches during the regular season, scoring a try in their match against the Golden Lions and a try and penalty against the s, and also started their semi-final match against , which the team from Bloemfontein won 27–22 to end the Sharks' involvement in the competition. Maritz represented the Sharks XV for the third consecutive season in 2016 – in the

qualification series Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

that replaced the Vodacom Cup – and appeared in eight of their fourteen matches in the competition. He scored tries in victories over the and for a Sharks XV team that finished in 10th place on the log.

Sharks

Maritz was included in the Sharks squad for the

2016 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division was the top tier of the second stage of the 2016 Currie Cup, the 78th edition of this annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was played between 5 August and ...

and named in the starting line-up for their opening match of the competition against .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritz, Neil South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births Rugby union players from Worcester, South Africa Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Sharks (Currie Cup) players Eastern Province Elephants players Pumas (Currie Cup) players