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Divan Serfontein

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Divan Serfontein
Birth nameDavid Jacobus Serfontein
Date of birth (1954-08-03) 3 August 1954 (age 70)
Place of birthKrugersdorp, South Africa
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight70 kg (150 lb)
SchoolVanderbijlpark High School
UniversityStellenbosch University
Occupation(s)Orthopedic surgeon
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrumhalf
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1976–1984 Western Province 100 (86)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1980–1984 South Africa 19 (12)

David Jacobus 'Divan' Serfontein (born 3 August 1954 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a former Springbok rugby union player.[1]

Playing career

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Provincial career

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Serfontein started his rugby career in 1974 at Maties where he was selected for the club's under-20 age group team. He was soon afterwards selected for the Western Province under-20 team and in his first match he played alongside the future South African cricketer, Peter Kirsten. In 1976 Serfontein made his provincial first team debut for Western Province against the touring All Blacks side of Andy Leslie. Western Province won this match 12–11.

At the start of the 1981 rugby season, Serfontein was appointed as Western Province captain. He went on to captain his province 51 times and also led his team to three consecutive Currie Cup titles, in 1982, 1983 and 1984.[2]

International career

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Serfontein made his test debut for the Springboks on 31 May 1980 at his home ground, Newlands in Cape Town against the touring British and Irish Lions team, captained by Bill Beaumont. He also scored his first test try in this match. The test series against the Lions, was followed with tests against the South American Jaguars, France, Ireland, New Zealand ( the so-called Rebel Tour) and England.[3]

Serfontein was selected as captain for the two test matches against the touring South American Jaguars in October 1984 and in doing so became the 39th Springbok test captain. Serfontein retired from rugby union at the end of the 1984 season, having played 100 matches for Western Province and 19 consecutive test matches for the Springboks. He also scored 3 test tries.[2]

Test history

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No. Opposition Result (SA 1st) Position Tries Date Venue
1.  British Lions 26–22 Scrumhalf 1 31 May 1980 Newlands, Cape Town
2. British & Irish Lions British Lions 26–19 Scrumhalf 14 June 1980 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
3. British & Irish Lions British Lions 12–10 Scrumhalf 28 June 1980 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
4. British & Irish Lions British Lions 13–17 Scrumhalf 12 July 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
5. South American Jaguars 22–13 Scrumhalf 18 October 1980 Wanderers Club, Montevideo
6. South American Jaguars 30–16 Scrumhalf 25 October 1980 Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago
7.  France 37–15 Scrumhalf 1 8 November 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
8.  Ireland 23–15 Scrumhalf 30 May 1981 Newlands, Cape Town
9. Ireland Ireland 12–10 Scrumhalf 6 June 1981 Kings Park Stadium, Durban
10.  New Zealand 9–14 Scrumhalf 15 August 1981 Lancaster Park, Christchurch
11. New Zealand New Zealand 24–12 Scrumhalf 29 August 1981 Athletic Park, Wellington
12. New Zealand New Zealand 22–25 Scrumhalf 12 September 1981 Eden Park, Auckland
13.  United States 38–7 Scrumhalf 20 September 1981 Owl Creek Polo ground, Glenville, New York
14. South American Jaguars 50–18 Scrumhalf 27 March 1982 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
15. South American Jaguars 12–21 Scrumhalf 3 April 1982 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
16.  England 33–15 Scrumhalf 2 June 1984 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
17. England England 35–9 Scrumhalf 9 June 1984 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
18. South American Jaguars 32–15 Scrumhalf (c) 1 20 October 1984 Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
19. South American Jaguars 22–13 Scrumhalf (c) 27 October 1984 Newlands, Cape Town

Accolades

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Serfontein was named the SA Rugby Player of the Year for 1982.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "David Jacobus Serfontein". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b Van der Merwe, F. J. G. (Floris J. G.), 1951- (2007). Matieland is rugbyland, 1980-2006. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 108–111. ISBN 9781920109790. OCLC 190836768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 100–118. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.
  4. ^ SA Rugby Year Book-Jaarboek 1983. South African Rugby Board. 1982.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Springbok Captain
1984
Succeeded by