Johannes Lodewikus 'Wikus' van Heerden (born 25 February 1979 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

) is a South African former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who played as a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

. He finished his career playing for the Lions 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 previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, and the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

in the national

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 ...

competition. Van Heerden also won 14 caps for the South Africa national team, the Springboks. Before his move to the Bulls, he was the captain of the Cats (now known as the Lions). He announced his retirement during the

2012 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 74th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 11 August to 27 October 2012. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

season.

Career

Van Heerden made his debut for the Springboks on 7 June 2003 as flanker against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

at Kings Park in

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 ...

. South Africa won the match 29 points to 25. He played at flanker for the second Test against the Scottish a week later at Ellis Park, which South Africa also won, 28 to 19. He was subsequently including in South Africa's 2003 Tri Nations Series squad. He played 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 so ...

at Newlands, which the Springboks won 26 to 22. He also played against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

at Loftus Versfeld, and was a reserve in another match against Australia at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

, both of which the Springboks lost. Van Heerden had a good 2007 Super 14 campaign with the Bulls as the team's specialist fetcher. His best game was in the Bulls’ 92–3 win against the Reds at Loftus, scoring two tries in the process. This led to him being selected into the Springboks. In July 2007, Van Heerden played his first Test in four years, against the

in Sydney. He played very well in this match, being regarded as the best Bok forward, albeit in a second string Springbok XV. He was equally impressive in the match against the

in Christchurch a week later. These performances lead to his inclusion in the Springbok's victorious

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

squad. On 16 May 2008 it was confirmed that he would join

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side Saracens in November 2008 following his Currie Cup commitments with the Bulls. He scored a try on his debut for Saracens in a 27–14 defeat against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the ...

on 23 November. On 18 March 2010, it was confirmed that Saracens had released him to return to South Africa where he would play for the Lions. This was a surprise, as Saracens had indicated he would see out the season with the club. In his first super rugby season back in South Africa he broke his arm but was back for the first match of the Curriecup. Unfortunately he broke his arm again in exactly the same place in this match, putting him out for several weeks. His father is former Springbok Lock Moaner van Heerden.

Honours

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

winner (

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 ...

) *

winner (

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

) * 2011

winner (

)

References

External links

Wikus van Heerden
on the Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame

on sarugby.com
Lions profileWikus van Heerden to Captain Lions TeamProfile on Saracens official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Heerden, Wikus 1979 births Living people Rugby union players from Johannesburg Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Rugby union flankers South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Saracens F.C. players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England South African expatriate sportspeople in England 2007 Rugby World Cup players Alumni of Hoërskool Waterkloof