Jaap Bekker
Full nameHendrik Petrus Jordaan Bekker
Date of birth(1925-02-11)11 February 1925
Place of birthDordrecht, South Africa
Date of death6 August 1999(1999-08-06) (aged 74)
Place of deathPretoria, South Africa
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1952–56 South Africa 15 (3)

Hendrik Petrus Jordaan Bekker (11 February 1925 — 6 August 1999) was a South African rugby union international.

Born in Dordrecht, Bekker was the eldest of three brothers to play for the Springboks. Another brother, Daniel Bekker, was a two-time Olympic medalist in boxing.[1] He also had a sister who was a national record holder for shot put.[2]

Bekker was capped in 15 Test matches for the Springboks, debuting against England at Twickenham in 1952. A prop, he appeared in all six Tests for the Springboks on the 1956 tour of Australia and New Zealand, including a match up against All Blacks enforcer Kevin Skinner which left him bloodied.[3] He announced his retirement in 1957.[4]

See also

References

  1. "Five of family star in sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 1956.
  2. "Cassiem brothers show the talent is there, hockey needs a brave sponsor". TimesLIVE. 14 February 2023.
  3. "Kevin Skinner: All Black celebrated for a hard-man display against South Africa in 1956 which entered sporting mythology". The Independent. 25 July 2014.
  4. "A Famous Rugger Tourist". Leicester Mercury. 18 January 1957.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.