Adrian Vermeulen

Adrian De Wet Vermeulen (born (1990-10-17)17 October 1990) is a former South African rugby union player who played first class rugby with the Leopards in 2015 and 2016.[1] His regular position was at centre, and he occasionally played as a winger.

Adrian Vermeulen
Full nameAdrian De Wet Vermeulen
Date of birth (1990-10-17) 17 October 1990
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb; 14 st 13 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Monument, Krugersdorp
UniversityUniversity of Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Winger
Youth career
2009 Golden Lions
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012–2015 UJ 13 (15)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–2016 Leopards 28 (50)
Correct as of 17 January 2017

Rugby career

2009–2015: Youth and Varsity Cup rugby

Vermeulen was born in Johannesburg and grew up in nearby Krugersdorp. He was not selected to represent his local provincial union, the Golden Lions, at high school level, but made one appearance for the Golden Lions U19 team, coming on as a replacement in their match against Western Province U19 in the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship.[2]

He played rugby for the University of Johannesburg, being named in their squads for the national inter-university competition – the Varsity Cup – from 2012 to 2015.[1] He made a single appearance in the 2012 competition, scoring a try in a 93–0 victory over the TUT Vikings.[3] He made five appearances – all as a replacement – for UJ in 2013, as they qualified for the semi-finals, where they lost to UP Tuks.[4] He failed to play in any of their matches in 2014, but started all seven of their matches in the 2015 competition in the inside centre position. He scored tries against NMMU Madibaz[5] and Maties[6] as his team finished sixth, failing to qualify for the play-off semi-finals.[7]

2015–2016: Leopards

After the 2015 Varsity Cup, Vermeulen joined the Potchefstroom-based provincial side the Leopards. He made his first class debut for them on 12 June 2015, starting as the outside centre in a 45–17 victory over the SWD Eagles in the Currie Cup qualification series.[8] He remained in the starting line-up for their next match against the Falcons and scored his first senior try in a 53–7 victory.[9] After a third start against Griquas a week later,[10] he moved to the left wing for the remainder of the competition, starting in their final three matches and scoring tries against the Griffons[11] and Boland Cavaliers.[12] The Leopards' five wins in their six matches were not enough to top the log; they finished one point behind Griquas to fail to qualify to the Currie Cup Premier Division, instead playing in the Currie Cup First Division.[13] Restored to his centre berth, Vermeulen started all five of their matches in the regular season of the First Division season, scoring a try in their 64–34 victory over defending champions the Griffons[14] and another in their last round victory over the Falcons[15] to help the Leopards finish with a record of ten wins out of ten to qualify for the title play-offs.[16] Vermeulen started the semi-final, as the Leopards faced the Falcons for a second consecutive week, again beating the team from the East Rand.[17] Vermeulen made his thirteenth start of the season in the final, in which the Leopards triumphed 44–20 over the SWD Eagles to secure the team's first ever silverware.[18]

Vermeulen had another full season with the Leopards in 2016. He made eight starts in their Currie Cup qualification campaign, with tries against the Griffons[19] and SWD Eagles[20] not enough to secure a Currie Cup Premier Division spot, instead again qualifying to the First Division. Vermeulen started all five their matches in the First Division regular season, scoring tries against the Falcons[21] and SWD Eagles[22] as the team again topped the log with an unbeaten record.[23] He helped them to a 40–30 victory over the Falcons in the semi-final,[24] and also started the final against the Griffons. He scored their first try of the match in the 28th minute, before a head injury forced him off just before half-time, as the Leopards lost the match 25–44 to finish as runners-up.[25]

Vermeulen failed to sufficiently recover from the injury he sustained in the final and he retired from professional rugby in January 2017 on medical advice. He made a total of 28 first class appearances during his time at the Leopards, scoring ten tries and winning the Currie Cup First Division title in 2015.

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Adrian Vermeulen". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province 31-16 Lions". South African Rugby Union. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – UJ 93-0 TUT". South African Rugby Union. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP-Tuks 1 61-24 FNB UJ". South African Rugby Union. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB NMMU MADIBAZ 13-42 FNB UJ". South African Rugby Union. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB MATIES 16-15 FNB UJ". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  7. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 17-45 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 53-7 Hino Valke". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 21-48 ORC Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 20-24 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 61-17 Boland". South African Rugby Union. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  13. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Absa Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 64-34 Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hino Valke 29-36 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  16. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Absa Currie Cup First Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  17. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 29-17 Hino Valke". South African Rugby Union. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 44-20 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 76-26 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  20. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 26-21 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  21. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hino Valke 19-42 Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  22. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 49-31 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  23. "SA Rugby Log – 2016 Currie Cup First Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  24. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 40-30 Hino Valke". South African Rugby Union. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  25. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 25-44 Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
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