Theuns Briers

Theuns Briers
Briers in New Zealand in 1956
Birth nameTheunis Petrus Daniël Briers
Date of birth(1929-07-11)11 July 1929
Place of birthPaarl, South Africa
Date of death7 October 2018(2018-10-07) (aged 89)
Place of deathBloubergstrand, South Africa
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight88.5 kg (195 lb)
SchoolPaarl Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Paarl RC ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1953–1959 Western Province ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1955–1956 South Africa 7 (17)
1956 South Africa (tour) 5 (12)

Theunis Petrus Daniël Briers (11 July 1929 – 7 October 2018) was a South African rugby union player.[1]

Playing career

Briers matriculated at Paarl Boys' High School and played club rugby for the Paarl RC. He made his provincial debut for Western Province in 1953 was a member the Western Province Currie Cup winning teams in 1954 and 1959.[2]

Briers made his test match debut for South Africa against Robin Thompson's British Lions side in 1955 at Ellis Park in front of over 90,000 fans and scored two tries. He initially declared himself unavailable for the Springbok tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1956, but was called up as a replacement and joined the tour in time for the second test against the All Blacks.[3] Briers also played in 5 tour matches during the New Zealand leg of the tour and scored 4 tries.[4]

Test history

No. Opponents Results
(SA 1st)		 Position Tries Dates Venue
1.  British Lions 25–9 Wing 2 6 Aug 1955 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2. British & Irish Lions British Lions 6–9 Wing 1 20 Aug 1955 Newlands, Cape Town
3. British & Irish Lions British Lions 6–9 Wing 3 Sep 1955 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
4. British & Irish Lions British Lions 22–8 Wing 2 24 Sep 1955 Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth
5.  New Zealand 8–3 Wing 4 Aug 1956 Athletic Park, Wellington
6.  New Zealand 10–17 Wing 18 Aug 1956 Lancaster Park, Christchurch
7.  New Zealand 5–11 Wing 1 Sep 1956 Eden Park, Auckland

See also

References

  1. ^ "Theuns Briers". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ Heath, Duane (2019). South African Rugby Annual 2019. Cape Town: South African Rugby. pp. 468–469. ISBN 978-0620818087. OCLC 1089860189.
  3. ^ Jooste, Graham K. (1995). South African rugby test players 1949-1995. Johannesburg: Penguin. pp. 14–23. ISBN 0140250174. OCLC 36916860.
  4. ^ Heath, Duane; Grieb, Eddie; Smit, Kobus (2020). South African Rugby Annual 2020. Cape Town: South African Rugby Union. p. 234. ISBN 9780620872041.