Wimpie van der Walt

Wimpie van der Walt
Full namePetrus Willem van der Walt
Date of birth (1989-01-06) 6 January 1989 (age 35)
Place of birthBrits, South Africa
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight110 kg (240 lb; 17 st 5 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Nelspruit, Nelspruit
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, Flanker
Current team Urayasu D-Rocks
Youth career
2006–2007 Pumas
2008–2010 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009–2012 Western Province 16 (30)
2012 San Gregorio 16 (10)
2012 Eastern Province Kings 15 (15)
2013 Southern Kings 17 (30)
2013–2022 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 42 (30)
2014 Blue Bulls 5 (10)
2014 Bulls 4 (0)
2018 Sunwolves 9 (0)
2022– Urayasu D-Rocks ()
Correct as of 21 February 2021
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017−present Japan 16 (10)
Correct as of 21 February 2021

Petrus Willem van der Walt (born 6 January 1989 in Brits, North West) is a South African-born Japanese rugby union player who represents Japan at international level and is currently playing with NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League.[1][2] His regular position is lock or flanker.

Career

Youth

Van der Walt represented the Pumas at the 2006 and 2007 Craven Week tournaments. He then joined Western Province and represented them at Under-19 and Under-21 levels between 2008 and 2010. He was also included in the Maties squad for the 2010 Varsity Cup, but never made an appearance.

Western Province

He made his first team debut for Western Province in a Vodacom Cup match on 27 February 2010 against Boland Cavaliers.[3] and made his Currie Cup debut the following year against Griquas.[4] In total, he made fifteen Vodacom Cup and two Currie Cup appearances for Western Province.

San Gregorio

In October 2011, he joined Italian National Championship of Excellence team San Gregorio and made sixteen appearances for them in the 2011–2012 season, but could not help stop them from finishing last in the table and getting relegated to Serie A1 in 2012–13.

Eastern Province Kings

He returned to South Africa a few months later and joined Eastern Province Kings for the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season. He made his debut on 30 July 2012 in the opening game of the season against Boland Cavaliers.[5]

Southern Kings

He was named in the Southern Kings squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season.[6] He made his debut in the first match of the season against the Force[7] and quickly established himself as a first team regular, starting the fifteen out of the sixteen matches that season.

He scored his first try for the Kings in their defeat to the Crusaders in Christchurch.[8] He also scored a try in the Kings' dramatic 28–28 draw against the Brumbies,[9] as well as a week later, when he scored a late try against the Rebels[10] (the resulting conversion by Demetri Catrakilis tied the game at 27–27 and an injury-time drop goal secured a 30–27 win for the Kings). He also scored in the 19–11 defeat to the Stormers[11] and got two tries the following week against the Bulls[12] to become the Kings' leading try-scorer for the season with six tries.[13]

NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes

He signed for Japanese Top League side NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes for the 2013–14 season,[14] scoring two tries in 13 appearances.[15]

Bulls

He returned to South Africa following the conclusion of the 2013–14 Top League and joined the Bulls on a two-month contract during the 2014 Super Rugby season.[16]

Return to NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes and representing Japan

After the Super Rugby season, he returned to the Hurricanes squad to ply his trade. In November 2017 he was called up into the squad for Japan. He made his Test debut against Australia and made another two appearances in November. The South African born forward entered the 2019 Super Rugby season with 28 Super Rugby caps and 9 test caps for Japan. He cemented his place into the Japan's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and has made 15 appearances for Japan heading into the quarter-finals of the tournament.

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Wimpie van der Walt". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Union Sports Group Wimpie van der Walt". Union Sports Group. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Boland Kavaliers 37–28 Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 26–26 GWK Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Regent Boland Kavaliers 20–25 Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Southern Kings name reduced 35-man Super Rugby squad". Rugby15. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Southern Kings 22–10 Force". South African Rugby Union. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Crusaders 55–20 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Brumbies 28–28 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Rebels 27–30 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Stormers 19–11 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Bulls 48–18 Southern Kings". South African Rugby Union. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  14. ^ "2013年度 新加入予定選手のお知らせ". NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes (in Japanese). 10 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  15. ^ "It's Rugby – Player statistics Wimpie van der Walt". It's Rugby. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Vodacom Bulls loose forward stock bolstered" (Press release). Bulls. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.