Jannes Kirsten

Johannes Casper Kirsten (born 1 December 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby.[1] His regular position is lock or flanker. Kristen now plays his rugby for Exeter chiefs in the English Premiership.

Jannes Kirsten
Full nameJohannes Casper Kirsten
Date of birth (1993-12-01) 1 December 1993
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Height1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight111 kg (17 st 7 lb; 245 lb)
SchoolAfrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Pretoria
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Notable relative(s)Frik Kirsten (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock / Flanker
Current team Exeter Chiefs / Gallagher Premiership Rugby
Youth career
2012–2014 Blue Bulls
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 UP Tuks 14 (10)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2017 Blue Bulls 21 (10)
2016–present Bulls 46 (10)
2017–2018 Blue Bulls XV 2 (0)
2018–2019 Toyota Verblitz 5 (0)
2019–Present Exeter Chiefs 30 (20)
Correct as of 2 February 2019
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 South Africa Under-20 1 (0)
Correct as of 13 August 2016

Career

2012–13

Kirsten was never involved in provincials schools competitions like the annual Craven Week competition, but he joined the Blue Bulls Academy in Pretoria after finishing school. He made eight appearances for the Blue Bulls U19 side during the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship as they finished second on the log to qualify for the semi-finals. Two of Kirsten's appearances came in their 46–35 semi-final victory over the Sharks U19s[2] and the final, which they lost 18–22 to Western Province U19.[3]

Kirsten made his first class debut for the Blue Bulls during the 2013 Vodacom Cup. He made a single appearances for them in their 26–33 defeat to the Leopards XV[4] during the round-robin stage of the competition, which saw the Blue Bulls reach the quarter final stage before being eliminated by the Eastern Province Kings.[5]

In 2013, Kirsten was selected in the South Africa Under-20 team that attempted to retain the IRB Junior World Championship title that they won in 2012.[6] Kirsten didn't feature in their opening match of the competition as they beat the United States 97–0.[7] He was named on the bench for their next match against England, but failed to make an appearance in their 31–24 victory.[8] He did, however, feature in their final pool match against hosts France, coming on as a replacement for the final ten minutes of a 26–19 victory[9] which ensured South Africa finished top of their pool and qualified to the semi-finals. However, that proved to be Kirsten's only involvement in the tournament, as he sustained a fractured cheekbone during a training session, which ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.[10] In his absence, South Africa lost their semi-final match 17–18 to Wales[11] before clinching third spot in the competition by beating New Zealand 41–34 to win their fourth third-place play-off match in six years.[12]

Kirsten returned to domestic action with the Blue Bulls U21 side and made nine appearances for them during the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He missed out on the title play-off matches, though, as his side fell short once again, losing 23–30 to Western Province U21s in the final.[13]

2014–

In 2014, Kirsten represented Pretoria-based university side UP Tuks in the 2014 Varsity Cup, which ended in disappointment as they finished in sixth spot to miss out on the semi-finals. Having previously played as a lock, Kirsten started their match against UCT Ikey Tigers as a flanker[14] and remained in this position for the Blue Bulls U21s in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He started thirteen of their fourteen matches in the competition and got a hat-trick of tries in their match against Border U21 in a 143–0 victory on the opening day of the competition.[15] The Blue Bulls reached the final of the competition and Kirsten finished on the winning team, as they ran out 20–10 winners over Western Province U21.[16]

Kirsten started seven of UP Tuks's matches in the 2015 Varsity Cup, contributing tries in convincing victories over Maties[17] and CUT Ixias[18] as they topped the log after the round-robin stage to qualify for the semi-finals. Kirsten didn't play in the semi-final as UP Tuks lost the match 28–29 to NWU Pukke.[19]

He was named in the Blue Bulls Currie Cup squad for the first time in 2015 and was named on the bench for their Round Three match against Western Province.[20]

Personal life

Kirsten is the younger brother of Frik Kirsten, a prop who made 81 appearances for the Bulls and Blue Bulls between 2008 and 2014 and was a member of the South Africa squad that toured Europe at the end of 2013.[21] The brothers were both at the Blue Bulls between 2012 and 2014, but they didn't play together in the senior team at any stage before Frik's retirement in 2014 with a neck injury.[22]

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Jannes Kirsten". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 46-35 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 22-18 Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 26-33 Leopards XV". South African Rugby Union. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 31-34 Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. "Steenkamp leads powerful SA U20 JWC squad". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97-0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31-24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19-26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  10. "Stander called up as replacement for injured Kirsten". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17-18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41-34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30-23 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 1ST XV 16-26 FNB UP - TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 143-0 Border U21". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  16. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 10-20 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  17. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 53-8 FNB MATIES". South African Rugby Union. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 63-8 FNB CUT". South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  19. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 28-29 FNB NWU-PUKKE". South African Rugby Union. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  20. "Werner Kruger to claim unique double". Blue Bulls. 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  21. "Frik Kirsten called up to Springbok squad". South African Rugby Union. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  22. "Kirsten to call it a day" (Press release). Bulls. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
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