Ruben Jacobus Kruger (30 March 1970 – 27 January 2010) was 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. He played as a flanker. He had two daughters Zoë (b. 2002) and Isabella (b. 2005). Isabella played quarter final on the junior tournament at the

2022 Wimbledon Championships The 2022 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tier tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Novak Djokovic successfully defended his gentleme ...

Playing career

Provincial

A product of Grey College in Bloemfontein, Kruger played for the schools team at the annual

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 ...

tournament in 1987 and 1988 and gained selection for the South African Schools team in both years. After representing the Free State under-20 team in 1989 and 1990, he made his senior provincial debut for the Free State in 1991. During 1993, Kruger moved to and played for the union until 2000. In 1995 Ruben Kruger was named South African Rugby Football Union's player of the year.

International

Kruger played for the

South Africa national rugby union team 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 ...

between 1993 and 1999. He played his first test match for the Springboks on 6 November 1993 against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

at the Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium in Buenos Aires. In 1995, he played in the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

. During this tournament, he made 5 starts, and scored 1 try, in the controversial semi-final against the

France national rugby union team The France national rugby union team (, ) represents the French Rugby Federation (FFR; ) in men's international rugby union matches. Colloquially known as ''Le XV de France'' (French for "The XV of France"), the team traditionally wears blue ...

. Kruger also played in the 1999 World Cup and in addition to his 36 test matches, he also played in 20 tour matches and scored 14 tries.

Test history

World Cup final

World Cups

*1995: world champions, 5 selections ( Wallabies,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

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 ...

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 ...

). *1999: 2 selections (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Later career

At the end of his rugby career, he became a camera

salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

. He owned a Minolta franchise 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 was portrayed in '' Invictus'', a film about

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

and the 1995 Springboks, by Grant Roberts.

Death

Kruger died in Pretoria on 27 January 2010 after battling

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

for 10 years. He was two months short of his 40th birthday.''www.supersport.com''

References

External links

Site springboks 1996scrum.com statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Ruben 1970 births 2010 deaths Deaths from brain cancer in South Africa Rugby union flankers South Africa international rugby union players South African rugby union players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players South Africa international rugby sevens players Free State Cheetahs players Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Rugby union players from the Free State (province) 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players