Wynand Claassen (born 16 January 1951, in

Schweizer-Reneke Schweizer-Reneke, sometimes referred to as Schweizer, is a town in the North West Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Mamusa Local Municipality.

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

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

captain.

Playing career

He was selected as eighth-man for

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

whilst studying architecture at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

in the late 1970s. He formed a loose-trio with

Thys Lourens Matthys Johannes 'Thys' Lourens (born 15 May 1943) is a former South African rugby union Rugby player. Playing career Lourens played 168 first class provincial matches for Northern Transvaal, 91 of which were in the Currie Cup competition. He ...

and Burger Geldenhuys and soon had two

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 ...

final victories, in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. In 1980 he moved to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

and was selected for the Springboks in 1981, captaining the team on his debut against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Despite Natal's relegation to the Currie Cup B section at the end of 1981 he continued as Springbok captain until 1984. He played seven test matches for the Springboks, all as captain and also played in six tour matches, scoring two tries. Claassen is credited with reviving rugby at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

, both as a player and later as a coach. In 1988 he coached the Durban campus of the

to the

Moor Cup Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. People * Moor (surname) * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during the ...

title.

Test history

Springbok captain

In 1981 he earned international acclaim as captain during the infamous "Rebel Tour" in New Zealand.

Political influence in South African Rugby

Since retiring from the sport, he has maintained an active role in South African Rugby across the spectrum. He is often invited to the Captain's Table at various fund raising events. He has also earned great respect through his active involvement along with other Springbok captains supporting AfriForum's memorandum against political interference and racial discrimination in rugby. On 12 August 2008, Wynand Claassen and a delegation of former Springbok captains met with the South African Rugby Union as part of their campaign to express concerns and lobby against the use of race to determine team selection. In this meeting they expressed their intent to send a memorandum to the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

. They assert that racial discrimination in sport and team selection is in conflict with international sporting regulations.

Autobiography

His autobiography, "More Than Just Rugby" was published in 1985.

Social Appearances

Wynand Claassen was an honorary host on the Amabokoboko Blue Train which departed in June 2009 on a rare and distinguished journey from Pretoria. He played host to exclusive guests en route to watch the ''Springboks'' vs the ''

British & 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 ...

'' in their first test match in Durban.

Architect

Claassen is also an architecture graduate and occasional artist. In a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' interview with

Jani Allan Jani Allan (11 September 1952 – 25 July 2023) was a South African journalist, columnist, writer, broadcaster, and media personality. In 1980, Allan became a columnist for a centrist newspaper, the ''Sunday Times'', South Africa's most widel ...

he described his passion for architecture: "I'm very interested in old architecture – I think it's a great pity that beautiful buildings that are part of our heritage are torn down to make way for great glass boxes." A self-portrait also accompanied the column.

Personal

His father was George Claassen, a schoolmaster from Middelburg Hoërskool and winner of the 1961

Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The dire ...

between

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

and

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claassen, Wynand 1951 births Living people People from Schweizer-Reneke Afrikaner people Blue Bulls players Sharks (Currie Cup) players South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players University of Pretoria alumni South Africa national rugby union team captains Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from North West (South African province)