Werner Griesel (born 1 July 1986) is a South African professional

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, currently playing with the . His regular position is centre and he occasionally plays on the wing.

Career

Youth

Griesel played first team rugby for his high school, Welkom Gymnasium, in 2003 and 2004, earning a call-up to the side that played at the 2004 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 ...

tournament in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

. He enrolled at the

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

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

in 2005 where he appeared for the and for the side in 2006 and 2007.

Griffons

2008 saw Griesel return to

Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...

to link up with the once again. He made his first class debut in the team's 51–7 defeat to in Bellville, with Griesel scoring the Griffons' only try of the match in the 75th minute. He firmly established himself as a first team regular for the , making in excess of 100 appearances for the side in

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 ...

and

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 ...

competitions over the next few years, captaining the side more than 50 times.

Free State Cheetahs

Griesel made one single first class appearance for a side other than the . Following an injury crisis at the , Griesel was included in their

2011 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 73rd season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from July to October 2011. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the to ...

match against the . Griesel came on as a substitute with twenty minutes to go and scored a try within a minute of coming on with his first touch of the ball, to help the Cheetahs to a 49–39 victory in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griesel, Werner 1986 births Living people Free State Cheetahs players Griffons (rugby union) players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Welkom South African rugby union players 21st-century South African sportsmen