Fritz van Heerden
Frederick Johannes 'Fritz' van Heerden (born 29 June 1970) is a former South African rugby union player who played international rugby for the Springboks, making his debut on 4 June 1994 in Pretoria against the England touring side, and club rugby with Western Province and Leicester Tigers.
Birth name | Frederick Johannes van Heerden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 29 June 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Roodepoort, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 231 lb (105 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He joined Leicester Tigers in 1997, following fellow South African Joel Stransky, and joining up with Martin Johnson, and replacing Matt Poole who acquired a knee injury at about the same time with Dean Richards (normally a number eight) playing lock. Also able to play flanker, he complemented Johnson's more powerful play with mobility, but perhaps more importantly he pioneered the contesting of the opposition's line-out throws.
He returned to South Africa in 1999 to try to play for his country in the 1999 World Cup, and was drafted into the side late as a replacement for Selborne Boome, playing against Spain. After the World Cup, he returned to Leicester where he helped in the development of England lock Ben Kay. He retired.