Ruan Steenkamp
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Ruan Steenkamp (born 2 February 1993) 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 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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
, the Griquas (rugby union) 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 in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is flanker or number eight.


Career


Golden Lions / South Africa Schools

Born and bred in Krugersdorp, Steenkamp was eligible to represent the at youth level. He earned several call-ups to play for them at youth tournaments, from as early as primary school level; in 2006, he represented them at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament held in
Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostric ...
. He also played at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2009 and represented them at the Under-18
Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...
– the premier high school rugby union competition in South Africa – in both 2010 and 2011. Steenkamp was also included in the 2011 South Africa Schools squad and he was named captain of the team that beat France 'A' 21–14 in
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 ...
. Steenkamp then also made two appearances for the side in the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship.


Blue Bulls / South Africa Under-20

After high school, Steenkamp moved across the
Jukskei River The Jukskei River is one of the largest rivers in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the southernmost river in the Crocodile River basin. Course The Jukskei begins in Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Its original spring was on the former Doornfontein ...
to join the
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 ...
-based prior to the 2012 season. He made eight appearances for the s in the
2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship was contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012 in South Africa. The tournament featured the Under-19 players from the fourteen Currie Cup unions. Competition Division A There were seven participati ...
and also captained the side. He scored two tries during the round-robin stage of the season in matches against and and doubled that tally by scoring a brace in their 46–35 victory over the in the semi-final of the competition. He also captained the side in the final, but ended on the losing side as ran out 22–19 winners. In 2013, Steenkamp was named captain of the South Africa Under-20 squad for the
2013 IRB Junior World Championship The 2013 IRB Junior World Championship was the sixth, IRB Junior World Championship, an annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of twe ...
. He started all five matches for a South African side that won the competition in
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 attempted to retain the title in the 2013 event held in
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 ...
. They started off in fine fashion, beating the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
97–0 in the opening match. Steenkamp scored a try midway through the first half as South Africa ran in 16 tries. South Africa secured a 31–24 victory over
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and a 26–19 victory over the hosts
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 ...
to finish top of Pool A and qualify for the semi-finals. However, a 17–18 defeat by
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 ...
eliminated the defending champions from the competition. They recovered in the third-place play-off match to beat
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
41–34, with Steenkamp getting his second try of the tournament shortly after half-time. Steenkamp returned to domestic action after the tournament as he played for the s in the
2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven p ...
. Despite still being at Under-20 level, he also occasionally captained the side, including their 70–19 victory over where he started the match in an unfamiliar role of hooker. He made six appearances during the league stage of the competition and appeared as a replacement in both their 36–13 victory over in the semi-final and the final, where the Blue Bulls lost 23–30 to . Steenkamp again represented and captained the side in the
2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship was a rugby union competition held between the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa, plus the sub-union. It was contested from 11 July to 25 October 2014. Group A ...
. He started eleven of their twelve matches in the competition, scoring a try in eight of those matches, including tries in consecutive matches against , , and . The Blue Bulls finished in second position on the log to qualify for the play-offs and Steenkamp captained them in their 23–19 semi-final victory over the and the final, where Steenkamp scored one of two late tries as the Blue Bulls won the final 20–10 to clinch the Under-21 championship. Steenkamp's nine tries during the season was the most by a Blue Bulls player during their victorious campaign. Steenkamp started the 2015 season by representing university side in the
2015 Varsity Cup The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-u ...
competition. He appeared in their first two fixtures of the season and scored two tries in their 39–24 victory over defending champions . He suffered a
posterior cruciate ligament The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the Medial condyl ...
injury that ruled him out for several months, but returned for the during 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 Group Limited, Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for spon ...
season. He made his domestic first class debut on 25 September 2015, when he played off the bench in their 17–13 victory over the 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 ...
. He made an incident-filled home debut a week later, coming on as a replacement early in the second half, scoring his first senior try fifteen minutes after coming on, but also spending the final minutes of the match in the sin-bin following a 74th-minute yellow card. He also played off the bench in their final regular season match in a 25–24 win over the to help them finish second on the log and clinch a home semi-final for the first time since
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
.


External links


itsrugby.co.uk Profile


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenkamp, Ruan Alumni of Hoërskool Monument South African rugby union players Living people 1993 births Rugby union players from Krugersdorp Rugby union flankers South African people of Dutch descent Rugby union number eights Blue Bulls players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Bulls (rugby union) players Edinburgh Rugby players Griquas (rugby union) players 21st-century South African sportsmen Tuks Rugby Club players