| Intro | South African rugby union player |
| Is |
Athlete Rugby union player |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
24 March 1982, Pretoria |
| Age | 38 years |
| Star sign | Aries |
Petrus Fourie du Preez (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fuˈri duˈpri.ə]; born 24 March 1982 in Pretoria) is a former rugby union player. His position of choice was scrum half. Du Preez played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition in South Africa and the Bulls in the international Super Rugby competition between 2002 and 2011, and for Japanese Top League side Suntory Sungoliath between 2011 and 2016. He also represented the South Africa national team between 2004 and 2015, during which time he represented them in 3 Rugby World Cup tournaments.
Du Preez made his provincial debut during 2001 for the Blue Bulls in a match against the Leopards in the Currie Cup competition. It was in 2003 that he made his Super 12 (now, Super Rugby) debut for the Bulls side, against the ACT Brumbies. The following year he made his test match debut for the Springboks in a match against Ireland.
In 2006, Du Preez was voted SA Rugby Player of the year by the South African Rugby Football Union. He was nominated for IRB player of the year as well.
Du Preez has won the IRB u/21 World Cup in 2002, the Currie Cup final three times (’03, ’04 & ’09 having been withdrawn from Currie Cup action in ’06 by the then Springbok coach Jake White when the Bulls shared the cup), won the Super 14 title in 2007, 2009 and 2010, the Tri-Nations in 2004 and 2009 and the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
In 2009, Du Preez was voted SA Rugby Player of the year by the South African Rugby Football Union for a second time.
Education
Du Preez attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a large public school located in Pretoria. It was here that Du Preez got recognised as a star of the future alongside halfback partner and best friend, the late Francois Swart. He played alongside Bulls and Springbok teammates Wynand Olivier, Derick Kuun and Pierre Spies, Sharks fly half Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Stormers lock Adriaan Fondse and former Stade Français lock Cliff Milton. Titans international cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Faf du Plessis as well as New Zealand international Neil Wagner also teamed up with Du Preez in cricket.
2011 Rugby World Cup
Du Preez was selected for the second time for South Africa in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The first match was against Wales which South Africa won with tries from Francois Steyn and one from Francois Hougaard which Du Preez set up. He was then taken off on 71 minutes against Fiji which the Boks won 49–3. Du Preez was then rested along with a host of other players for the game against Namibia to give fellow scrum-half Francois Hougaard some game time. South Africa won the game 87–0. South Africa then finished their group on top with a 13–5 victory over Samoa. In the knockout stage the Springboks were defeated by Australia.
2012-2013
Du Preez had his injured shoulder operated on late in 2011, and used most of 2012 to fully recover. To the delight of his Springbok fans, he was again selected for South Africa in the 2013 Rugby Championship and the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests.
Accolades
In 2004 he was inducted into the University of Pretoria Sport Hall of Fame.
Honours
- South Africa Under-21
- World Cup: 2002
- Blue Bulls
- Currie Cup: 2003, 2004, 2009
- Bulls
- Super Rugby: 2007, 2009, 2010
- South Africa
- World Cup: 2007
- Tri-Nations: 2004, 2009
- Suntory Sungoliath
- All-Japan Rugby Football Championship: 2011-2012, 2012–2013, 2015–2016
- 2011–2012 Japan Cup