Pierre Johan Spies (born 8 June 1985 in Pretoria) is a retired South African rugby union player. He usually played as a Number 8, but could also play as a flanker and at times was deployed on the wing. Between 2005 and 2015, he spent the majority of his career playing Super Rugby for the Bulls and domestic South African rugby for the Blue Bulls, followed by stints in the Japanese and French rugby championships. He represented South Africa internationally between 2006 and 2013.
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| Full name | Pierre Johan Spies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 June 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (18 st 4 lb; 256 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Pretoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal
editSpies was born on 8 June 1985 in Pretoria and attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. He attended alongside future Springbok teammates Fourie du Preez and Wynand Olivier, professional rugby players Derick Kuün, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Gerhard van den Heever, Adriaan Fondse and cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Faf du Plessis. After school, he completed his first year in B.Sc. Construction Management at the University of Pretoria.[1]
He married Juanne Weidemann, in December 2008. Spies is a devout Christian, but although both his parents are ministers he only started practicing his faith when he was in his twenties.[2]
Rugby
editHe made his first class debut for the Blue Bulls in 2005 in a match against Griquas.[citation needed] He made his Super 12 debut against the Brumbies, becoming the youngest player ever to represent the Bulls.[citation needed] However, he picked up an injury in this match and reverted to the Blue Bulls U21 side, where he scored nine tries in six games in the 2005 Under-21 Provincial Championship.[citation needed]
After representing the South African Under-21 side at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship in France, Spies made his Springbok debut their 49–0 defeat at the hands of Australia in the 2006 Tri Nations Series.[citation needed] He was retained for the home leg of the tournament and turned in two "Man-of-the-Match" performances, in their wins over the New Zealand in Rustenburg and Australia in Durban.[citation needed]
He was injured in a match against Ireland on the Springboks' end of year tour, which ruled him out for the rest of the tour, as well as much of the 2007 Super 14 season, but he did make his comeback for the Bulls in their 49–12 victory over southern rivals the Stormers.[citation needed]
On 21 July 2007, Spies was selected in Jake White's Springbok squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup to be played in France in September, but was forced to withdraw from the squad nine days later after blood clots were found in his lungs. After getting a second opinion, it was stated that Spies could return to the World Cup squad if a third opinion was positive.[3] However, the third diagnosis confirmed the original one and Spies withdrew from the squad.[4] He returned to the Springboks' team for the 2008 June internationals against Wales.[citation needed]
In domestic rugby, he was nominated for the 2008 Currie Cup Player of the Year, South African Player of the Year, International Player of the Year and won the award for South Africa's Most Promising Player of the Year and Sportsman of the Year.[citation needed]
In 2009, his performances in the Super 14 earned him a selection for the Springboks to play against the British & Irish Lions during their tour to South Africa. He was also selected for South Africa's end-of-year tour, but injured his finger and was ruled out.[5]
In 2015, after having been released by the Bulls, Spies played a few matches with Japanese club Kintetsu Liners and then moved to top French club Montpellier Hérault Rugby, then coached by the Jake White.[6]
In 2017, after his contract with Montpellier had not been renewed, Spies announced to have decided to retire from rugby.[7]
Physical
editAs of 2009, Spies could power clean 135 kg, dead-lift 240 kg, bench-press 165 kg and do pull-ups with a 50 kg weight between his legs. He could jump 1.4m onto a raised platform and had a body-fat percentage of 6.5.[8] He was "rumoured" to be able to run 100m in around 11seconds,[9] his speed anyway so high to have been fielded on the wing at times.
Spies was credited with great strength, and pace for his size, but was criticised for a lack of physicality, especially if compared to fellow South African No.8 Duane Vermeulen[10] Injuries hampered his later career.[11]
He was in general regarded more suitable to break the defenders' line and play in the space than being the typical Springbok forward, menacing and physically imposing at the ruck.
References
edit- ^ "Pierre Spies – The Official Page". Pierre Spies. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Flint, Liam (16 November 2016). "Springboks and Montpellier rugby star, Pierre Spies: "God radically changed my life"". Cross The Line. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Springbok Spies to miss World Cup". BBC. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
- ^ "SA Rugby Statement on Pierre Spies". South African Rugby Union. 14 August 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
- ^ Guardian Staff (3 November 2009). "Pierre Spies out of South Africa squad after emergency finger operation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Pierre Spies joins Montpellier". 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Springbok No.8 Pierre Spies retires from "wonderful journey of rugby"". 20 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Spies's cognitive evolution". Keo. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ "Readers' Poll: Pierre Spies the most lethal at the break". 9 March 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Spies can add value to Boks". www.sarugbymag.co.za. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Spies signs for Montpellier | Planet Rugby". Planet Rugby. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- Guardian Staff (3 November 2009). "Pierre Spies out of South Africa squad after emergency finger operation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
External links
edit- "SA Rugby Player Profile – Pierre Spies". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- Pierre Spies on sarugby.com
- Pierre Spies Super 14 Stats
- Pierre Spies Tri-Nations Stats
- Pierre Spies on bluebulls.co.za
- Pierre Spies to debut for the Bulls
- Pierre Spies personal website
- itsrugby.co.uk profile