André Venter

André Gerhardus Venter (born 14 November 1970 in Vereeniging, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union footballer who earned 66 caps playing for the South Africa national team during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s.[1] He represented South Africa during the 1999 Rugby World Cup where they finished third.

André Venter

Birth name	André Gerhardus Venter
Date of birth	14 November 1970
Place of birth	Vereeniging, South Africa
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	109 kg (17 st 2 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1997–2002 1998–2001 Free State Cheetahs Cats () Correct as of 11 October 2012 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–2001 South Africa 66 (45) Correct as of 11 October 2012

Bill McLaren once said that "He's no oil painting, but look at him working the blind side like a pop-up toaster![2]

A few years after his retirement he was diagnosed with a degenerative syndrome of the central nervous system, later revealed to be transverse myelitis, which causes damage to the spine, and forced him into a wheelchair. Later, his former Springbok teammate, Joost van der Westhuizen developed a degenerative nervous disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[3]

International statistics

Test Match Record

Against	P	W	D	L	Tri	Pts	%Won
Argentina	3	3	0	0	2	10	100
Australia	11	4	1	6	0	0	40.91
British Lions	3	1	0	2	0	0	33.33
Canada	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
England	8	4	0	4	0	0	50
France	6	4	0	2	0	0	66.67
Ireland	4	4	0	0	1	5	100
Italy	5	5	0	0	1	5	100
New Zealand	14	5	0	9	0	0	35.71
Scotland	3	3	0	0	2	10	100
Tonga	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
United States	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
Wales	5	4	0	1	3	15	80
Total	66	41	1	24	9	45	62.88

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

Test tries (9)

Tries	Opposition	Location	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium	Test match	9 Nov 1996	Won 46–15
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium	Test match	16 Nov 1996	Won 44–21
1	Scotland	Edinburgh, Scotland	Murrayfield	Test match	6 Dec 1997	Won 68–10
2	Wales	Pretoria, South Africa	Loftus Versfeld	Test match	27 Jun 1998	Won 96–13
1	Wales	London, England	Wembley	Test match	14 Nov 1998	Won 28–20
1	Scotland	Edinburgh, Scotland	Murrayfield	World Cup	3 Oct 1999	Won 46–29
1	Ireland	Dublin, Ireland	Lansdowne Road	Test match	19 Nov 2000	Won 28–18
1	Italy	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Boet Erasmus Stadium	Test match	30 Jun 2001	Won 60–14

World Cup matches

  Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place

No.	Date	Opposition	Venue	Stage	Position	Tries	Result
1999
1.	3 Oct 1999	Scotland	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Pool match	Flank	1	46–29
2.	15 Oct 1999	Uruguay	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Pool match	Flank		39–3
3.	24 Oct 1999	England	Stade de France, Paris	Quarter-final	Flank		44–21
4.	30 Oct 1999	Australia	Twickenham, London	Semi-final	Flank		21–27
5.	4 Nov 1999	New Zealand	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Third place play-off	Flank		22–18

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 634

References

1. "André Venter - South Africa". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
2. "He's like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe". The Sun. 26 September 2012.
3. "Van der Westhuizen diagnosed with motor neurone". RTÉ-ie. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2012.