Fourie du Preez

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Fourie du Preez
Du Preez playing in 2007
Full namePetrus Fourie du Preez
Born (1982-03-24) 24 March 1982
Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb)
SchoolAfrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Notable relativeFrik du Preez (uncle)
Rugby union career
Position Scrum-half
Youth career
2002–2003 Blue Bulls
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2002–2010 Blue Bulls 52 (95)
2003–2011 Bulls 112 (110)
2011–2016 Suntory Sungoliath 55 (45)
Correct as of 24 March 2016
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2001 South Africa U19
2002–2003 South Africa U21 9 (5)
2004–2015 South Africa 76 (80)
Correct as of 27 January 2016
Medal record
Men's Rugby union
Representing  South Africa
Rugby World Cup
Gold medal – first place2007 FranceSquad
Bronze medal – third place2015 EnglandSquad

Petrus Fourie du Preez (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fuˈri du ˈpri.ə]; born 24 March 1982) is a South African former professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for the Bulls between 2001 and 2011 and the Suntory Sungoliath between 2011 and 2016. He represented South Africa from 2004 to 2015, earning 76 Test caps and scoring 16 tries. Du Preez played in three Rugby World Cup tournaments and was a central figure in South Africa's victory at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Du Preez won the 2002 IRB Under-21 World Championship, three Currie Cup titles (2003, 2004, 2009), three Super 14 titles (2007, 2009, 2010), and two Tri Nations Series championships (2004, 2009). He was named SA Rugby Player of the Year twice, in 2006 and 2009, and was a nominee for the IRB Player of the Year award in 2006. He is often ranked among the leading scrum-halves of the professional era.

Early life

Du Preez was born in Pretoria, South Africa.[1] He is the son of Fourie du Preez Snr, a former eighthman who represented Northern Transvaal and worked as a chartered accountant,[2] and the nephew of former Springbok Frik du Preez.[1]

Du Preez grew up a Blue Bulls supporter. His father bought season tickets at Loftus Versfeld, allowing him to attend matches almost every weekend, an experience he later credited with shaping his connection to the team.[2]

He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies), where he became one of the leading schoolboy scrum-halves of his province. Du Preez represented the Blue Bulls at Craven Week,[3] though he was not selected for the South African Schools team.[4]

After matriculating, he signed to join the Lions but requested a release before joining, choosing instead to sign with the Bulls, the union he had supported since childhood. The Lions administrator Loffie Eloff tore up his contract to let him go.[5]

Career

Bulls

Du Preez joined the Bulls in 2001, initially representing the franchise at age-group level.[5] He made his provincial debut for the Blue Bulls later that same year, aged 19, in a Currie Cup match against the Leopards.[6]

Du Preez made his Super 12 debut for the Bulls in 2003 against the ACT Brumbies. He was central to the Bulls' rise in Super Rugby, winning three titles with the franchise: the 2007 Super 14,[7] the 2009 Super 14, where he scored two tries in the final,[8] and the 2010 Super 14.

He also won three Currie Cup titles with the Blue Bulls, in 2003, 2004 and 2009,[9] and played in the 2005 final, which the Bulls lost to the Free State Cheetahs.[10]

By the time he left South Africa, Du Preez had made 164 appearances for the Bulls and Blue Bulls, comprising 52 in the Currie Cup and 112 in Super Rugby.[9]

Suntory Sungoliath

Du Preez joined Suntory Sungoliath in Japan ahead of the 2011–12 season.[11] He became one of the side's most high-profile overseas players and made 55 appearances for the club.[9] During his time in Tokyo he helped Suntory win consecutive Top League titles, in 2011–12 and 2012–13; the club also won the separate All-Japan Rugby Football Championship in both seasons.[9]

International career

Du Preez played junior international rugby for South Africa at Under-19 and Under-21 level. He was part of the South African squad that won the 2002 IRB Under-21 World Championship on home soil.[12]

Du Preez made his Test debut for South Africa on 12 June 2004 against Ireland in Bloemfontein, a 31–17 win.[13] He scored his first Test try later that year against New Zealand in Christchurch.[14] He played a central role in South Africa's 2004 Tri Nations campaign, appearing throughout an unbeaten run to the title.[15]

Du Preez was among the standout players of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which South Africa won. He created the tries and was named man of the match in a 36–0 pool win over England.[16] He scored the opening try in the 37–13 semi-final win over Argentina[14] and started at scrum-half as South Africa beat England 15–6 in the final to claim their second world title.[17]

He was again a major contributor during South Africa's 2009 Tri Nations title, appearing in all six matches as the Springboks lost only once and beat New Zealand in all three Tests between the sides.[18]

Du Preez started at scrum-half in South Africa's 2011 Rugby World Cup pool wins over Wales, Fiji and Samoa, and was named among the replacements for the win over Namibia, before South Africa were eliminated 11–9 by Australia in the quarter-finals.[19] After moving to Suntory Sungoliath in late 2011, he played no Tests for South Africa in 2012, before returning to the Springbok squad in 2013.[20]

Du Preez was recalled for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. After captain Jean de Villiers broke his jaw against Samoa, Du Preez was named the 56th man to captain South Africa, leading the side from the pool match against Scotland onward.[21] He scored the decisive try in the quarter-final win over Wales, a 75th-minute score from a scrum move that sent South Africa into the semi-finals,[22] where they lost 18–20 to New Zealand.[23] The semi-final was his final Test.[24]

Across his international career, Du Preez won 76 caps for South Africa and scored 16 Test tries.[25][26] He retired in March 2016, on his 34th birthday.[26]

Legacy

Du Preez is widely regarded as one of the leading scrum-halves of the professional era. Several contemporaries rated him the best scrum-half they faced: former All Blacks number nine Aaron Smith and Wallaby Will Genia both named him the world's leading scrum-half of his generation.[27]

Former Wallabies and England coach Eddie Jones described Du Preez as "the best decision-making halfback I've ever seen", comparing his match control to that of an NFL quarterback and saying his influence was "like having a coach on the field".[28] Former England head coach Brian Ashton called Du Preez "the finest half-back in the world", crediting him with the ability to "shape a game to his side's requirements".[29] Heyneke Meyer described him as a "general" for his ability to direct play.[30]

In a 2025 SuperSport public vote for a "Springbok Dream Team", Du Preez was chosen as the scrum-half, taking about 64 per cent of the vote ahead of Joost van der Westhuizen.[31]

Personal life

Du Preez married Jané in 2007,[32] and the couple have two children.[33]

After retiring, Du Preez moved into business, joining the Pretoria private equity firm Fledge Capital in 2016.[34] He has also worked as a part-time coaching consultant with the Bulls.[35]

Honours

South Africa
Bulls
Suntory Sungoliath
South Africa Under-21
Individual

See also

References

  1. "9 things you didn't know about Fourie du Preez". News24. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  2. "Fortune favours brave du Preez". The Press. Stuff.co.nz. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  3. "Springbok Schools in 2004". Rugby365. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  4. Paul Dobson. "South African Schools players 1974–2008". Rugby365. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  5. "How Fourie du Preez was nearly a Lions player". SA Rugby Magazine. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  6. JJ Harmse (22 October 2009). "Fourie nothing like Currie Cup". News24. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  7. "Bulls into final after South African classic". Planet Rugby. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  8. Duncan Johnstone (4 June 2009). "Bulls thrash Chiefs to win Super 14 title". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  9. "Fourie calls it quits". SA Rugby Magazine. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  10. "Cheetahs comeback stuns Bulls in Currie Cup final". ESPN. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  11. "Turning Japanese". ESPN. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  12. "SA Under-21 squad named". IOL. 7 May 2002. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  13. "Springbok rookies make Irish favourites". ABC News. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  14. "Fourie du Preez". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  15. "South Africa win Tri-Nations". BBC Sport. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  16. Pirate Irwin (17 September 2007). "Du Preez enjoys fairytale comeback". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  17. "2007 Rugby World Cup final". Rugby World Cup. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  18. Marc Hinton (13 September 2009). "Springboks win Tri-Nations". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  19. "Rugby World Cup 2011: South Africa 9–11 Australia". BBC Sport. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  20. "Veteran Du Preez back for Springboks". Fox News. Associated Press. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  21. "Rugby World Cup 2015: Fourie du Preez to captain South Africa". BBC Sport. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  22. Richard Williams (17 October 2015). "Rugby World Cup: South Africa 23–19 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  23. Tom Fordyce (24 October 2015). "South Africa 18–20 New Zealand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  24. Jon Cardinelli (1 December 2015). "Fourie's final flourish". SA Rugby Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  25. "World Cup-winning Springbok Fourie du Preez retires". ESPN. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  26. Dev Trehan (24 March 2016). "South African great Fourie du Preez retires from rugby". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  27. "Fourie du Preez the world's best scrumhalf, say peers". Rugby365. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  28. Mark Keohane (9 January 2025). "Fourie du Preez is the greatest No 9 in the professional era". Keo. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  29. Chris Hewett (23 October 2015). "Fourie du Preez: the finest half-back in the world". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  30. Nel, Brenden (23 September 2025). "Bok Dream Team: Meet our nippy nines". SuperSport. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  31. "Fourie du Preez voted Springbok Dream Team scrumhalf". SuperSport. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  32. Marguerite van Wyk (12 February 2010). "Ons glansmense wys hulle troufotos". Sarie. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  33. Afshak Mohamed (27 June 2014). "Fourie set to ignite Boks". Pretoria News. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  34. Craig Lewis (30 April 2024). "What is Springbok icon Fourie du Preez doing these days?". The South African. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  35. Craig Lewis (14 January 2022). "Game-changer: Bok legend Fourie du Preez to coach Bulls". The South African. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  36. "Fourie crowned SA Player of the Year". SA Rugby. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  37. "U.P. Sport Hall of Fame". University of Pretoria. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2025.