Lambert Groenewald

Lambert Groenewald
Full nameLambert Smith Groenewald
Date of birth (1989-02-01) 1 February 1989 (age 35)
Place of birthWorcester, South Africa
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight113 kg (17 st 11 lb; 249 lb)
SchoolPaul Roos Gymnasium
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Youth career
2007 Western Province
2008–2010 Sharks
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2011 Sharks XV 14 (5)
2011 Sharks 1 (0)
2011–2012 Brescia ()
2012–2013 AMPO Ordizia ()
2013 Golden Lions 6 (0)
2014 Golden Lions XV 1 (0)
2015–2017 Pumas 37 (45)
Correct as of 18 May 2018

Lambert Smith Groenewald (born 1 February 1989 in Worcester) is a South African-born Zimbabwean rugby union player who most recently played for the Pumas.[1] His regular position is flanker.

Career

Youth

At youth level, he captained his high school team at Paul Roos Gymnasium and represented Western Province at the 2007 Under-18 Academy Week and Craven Week tournaments before moving to the Sharks. He represented them at Under-19 and Under-21 level between 2008 and 2010.

Sharks

He made his first class debut for the Sharks XV in the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition. He started the opening match of the season against the Border Bulldogs and scored a try after 29 minutes to help the Sharks XV to a 69–8 victory.[2] A further five appearances followed in the 2010 Vodacom Cup, as well as eight appearances in the 2011 competition.

He did not play any Currie Cup rugby, but he did make one Super Rugby appearance for the Sharks when he came on as a late substitute for Ryan Kankowski in their match against the Blues.[3]

Brescia and Ordizia

He left the Sharks in 2011 to join Rugby Brescia in the Italian Serie A. He spent one season in Brescia and then joined Basque side AMPO Ordizia for the 2012–13 División de Honor de Rugby.

Golden Lions

He returned to South Africa in 2013, joining the Golden Lions in time for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.[4][5]

Pumas

After making just seven appearances in two years for the Golden Lions, he agreed to join Mbombela-based side the Pumas on loan for the 2015 season.[6] He was a member of the Pumas side that won the Vodacom Cup for the first time in 2015, beating Western Province 24–7 in the final.[7] Groenewald made eight appearances during the season, scoring two tries.

In July 2015, the Pumas announced that they signed Groenewald on a permanent basis for the 2016 season.[8]

Zimbabwe

In May 2014, the ZRU confirmed that Groenewald would be available to play for the Zimbabwe during the 2014 Africa Cup, a competition that doubled up as the African qualifying competition for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[9]

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Lambert Groenewald". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks XV 69–8 Border". South African Rugby Union. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks 26–12 Blues". South African Rugby Union. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Lions team to face Sharks". Sport24. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Lions lean on former Sharks". Rugby365. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Pumas leen flank by Leeus" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Steval Pumas first-time Vodacom Cup champions – Final Review". South African Rugby Union. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Steval Pumas announce new contracts". Rugby15. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Sables invite top players". Zimbabwe Independent. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.