Pieter Willem Gabriel Rossouw (born 3 December 1971) is a South African former professional

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player and current coach. Rossouw played

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

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 the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

in the

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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

competition. He played a total of 43 times for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

, making him one of the most capped Springbok wingers after South Africa's readmission to international rugby. He was also one of South Africa's most prolific try-scoring wingers, post-isolation, with only

Breyton Paulse Breyton Paulse (born 25 April 1976 in De Keur, Koue Bokkeveld) is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Africa, scoring 26 ...

(26) and

Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the , the and ...

(53) scoring more tries. He is 7th on the all-time try-scoring list for the Springboks. Rossouw is currently the backline coach of the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

in Super rugby and the

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...

in the Currie Cup. He was known as "Slaptjips" (Afrikaans for potato chips or

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

), apparently because the sight of his running legs was like potato chips slapping together. Pieter is the older brother of Chris Rossouw, who played flyhalf for Western Province and the

Free State Cheetahs The Free State Cheetahs (), formerly known as Orange Free State (), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs due to sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are ...

Early life

Rossouw was born in

Swellendam Swellendam () is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape D ...

in 1971. He went to school in

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

Paarl Gimnasium Paarl Gimnasium is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in the city of Paarl in the Western Cape province of South Africa. History Rev. van der Lingen founded the school in the centre of town in 1858. The school has p ...

before going to university at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, where he played for the university's rugby team.

Playing career

1994 to 1998

Pieter Rossouw made his debut for Western Province in 1994. In 1996 Rossouw was selected for the Western Province team to compete in the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

. In 1997, South African Rugby has not yet adopted the franchise system, which New Zealand has done. Instead, the four semi-finalists of the previous year's Currie Cup competition qualified for the Super 12. In 1996, Western Province was defeated in the quarter-finals by the Gauteng Lions and did not progress to the semi-finals. Their place in 1997's Super 12 was therefore taken by the Free State Cheetahs. This meant Pieter Rossouw did not play any Super Rugby in 1997. Despite not featuring in the Super 12 in 1997, Rossouw was selected for the Springboks to face the touring

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. He made his Springbok debut against the Lions in the second test of the tour on 28 June 1997 at Kings Park in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. South Africa lost the game 15-18. Rossouw was again in the team to face the Lions in the third and final test, when he scored the first of his 21 test tries. South Africa won 35-16, but lost the test series 2-1. Rossouw was part of the Springbok team that played in the annual Tri-nations series in

. He was one of the try scorers when South Africa beat

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with 61 points to 22. It remains the Springboks' highest score against the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

. At the end of 1997 the Springboks toured to Europe, playing test matches against Italy, France, England and Scotland. Pieter Rossouw was a member of this touring squad. On 22 November 1997 South Africa faced

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which was the French's last game at the stadium before moving to the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

in Saint-Denis. The Springboks humiliated France by 52 points to 10. Rossouw became only the second Springbok in history to score 4 tries in one test. In

, Western Province won the Currie Cup by beating Free State in the final by 14 points to 12 at

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Rossouw was the left wing for Western Province on the day. In 1998 South African rugby adopted the franchise system for the Super 12. New teams were formed located 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 ...

and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. Cape Town had again a team in the Super 12. They weren't called Western Province, but the Stormers. The

were selected from players representing Western Province, Boland and South Western Districts. This gave Rossouw the opportunity to return to Super Rugby. The Springboks won the

1998 Tri Nations Series The 1998 Tri Nations Series was contested from 11 July to 22 August between the Australia national rugby union team, Australia, All Blacks, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national rugby union teams. The Sprin ...

, having not lost a single game. The away game for the Springboks against the All Blacks took place at Athletic Park in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 25 July 1998. Rossouw scored the only try of the game from either side, and South Africa ended up winning 13-3. This was the Springboks' first win on New Zealand soil since readmission and also their first since 29 August 1981 at the same venue. From the 1997 tour to Europe to the second last game of the European tour of 1998, South Africa played in 17 consecutive unbeaten tests, equalising the record set by the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

between 1965 and 1970. The All Blacks eclipsed this record by winning 23 consecutive tests, starting with the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in 1987. However, South Africa, who ended their unbeaten run in 1970, was not part of their opposition during this period, due to the sporting boycott. Pieter Rossouw played in all 17 victorious tests for the Springboks in their unbeaten run from 1997 to 1998.

1999

Rossouw continued to play Currie Cup rugby for Western Province and Super Rugby for the Stormers from 1999 until his retirement in 2004, except in 2002 when he joined London Irish for one season. Rossouw was part of the only Springbok team to have lost to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. On 26 June 1999 at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales beat South Africa by 29 to 19. The first and, to date, only time Wales have beaten the Springboks. He remained a regular selection for the Springboks in 1999, which included the

, hosted by Wales. He was selected for the pool games against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

as well as the quarter-final against England and the semi-final against Australia. His only try of the tournament came against England in the quarterfinal.

2000 to 2003

From 2000 Rossouw played less frequently for the Springboks. He played his last Tri-nations game against Australia in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 29 July 2000. He was selected for the Springboks for seven more tests with his final Springbok test on 28 June 2003 at

Boet Erasmus Stadium EPRU Stadium, also known by its original name of Boet Erasmus Stadium, was a stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The letters "EPRU" in the name represent the Eastern Province Rugby Union, the stadium's historic primary tenants, whose tea ...

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 ...

. Rossouw continued to be a regular starting selection for Western Province and the Stormers and he won two successive Currie Cups with Western Province in 2000 and 2001, beating the in both finals and scoring a try in the 2000 final. In 2002 it was announced that Rossouw did not renew his contract with the Stormers and SARFU and elected to sign with English Premiership team,

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 ...

. Arriving at London Irish, Rossouw struggled with a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury and ended up playing only eight games for the team, scoring one try. London Irish did not have a very good season, which prompted coach

Brendan Venter Brendan Venter (born 29 December 1969) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. Venter played at Centre (rugby union), centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He p ...

to make himself available to play again. At the time Premiership teams were only allowed to field to overseas players, with the other being Naka Drotske. Rossouw was therefore released from his contract towards the end of 2002. Rossouw returned to Cape Town and again played Currie Cup for Western Province and Super Rugby for the Stormers.

2004

Although Rossouw formed part of the Stormers squad for the

2004 Super 12 season The 2004 Super 12 season was the ninth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2004, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seaso ...

and the Western Province squad for the

, he was eventually dropped from the team by coach

Carel du Plessis Carel Johan du Plessis (born 24 June 1960) is a former South African rugby union coach and player. Playing career Du Plessis played for Western Province and the Springboks, his skills earning him the nickname the ''Prince of Wings''.

before a game against the Bulls in August 2004. This led him to announce his retirement at the beginning of October 2004. In total Pieter Rossouw scored 31 Super Rugby tries, placing him at 27th on the all-time highest try-scorers in Super Rugby competition history. He holds this position jointly with

Ben Tune Ben Tune (born 28 December 1976) is a former Australian rugby union player. He played most of his rugby career on the wing but later switched to outside centre. Early career Tune was born in Brisbane and educated at St Paul's School, Bald Hil ...

of the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * ''Reds'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...

and Lelia Masaga of the Chiefs.

Coaching career

Pieter Rossouw started his coaching career at Majuba residence at the University of Stellenbosch in 2006. After being involved in coaching with the Western Province

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 ...

team as well as the Western Province under 19 team in 2007, Rossouw was signed by the

Blue Bulls Rugby Union The Blue Bulls Rugby Union, previously Northern Transvaal Rugby Union, is the governing body for rugby union in Pretoria, two neighboring municipalities in Gauteng Province, and all of Limpopo Province, in South Africa. The union's headquarters ...

as backline coach for the

and

in February 2008. A position he has held since. As part of the Bulls' coaching set-up, Rossouw has won a Currie Cup trophy in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and Super Rugby trophies in

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. He resigned from the job in June 2015 and started as Backline coach with the

Namibia national rugby union team The Namibia national rugby union team (nicknamed the Welwitschias) represents Namibia in men's international rugby union competitions. They are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in seven Rugby World Cup compe ...

.''‘Slaptjips’ to assist Namibia at RWC.'' Sport24, 29 June 2015
/ref>

Honours

Playing career

SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee, 1997 ;

: 1997, 2000, 2001 ;

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

* Tri Nations:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Coaching career

;

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossouw, Pieter South African rugby union coaches South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players 1971 births Living people People from Swellendam South Africa international rugby sevens players Rugby union wings Boland Cavaliers players Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby sevens players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for South Africa Alumni of Paarl Gimnasium Rugby union players from the Western Cape 1999 Rugby World Cup players London Irish players South African expatriate rugby union players in England