Alandré van Rooyen

Alandré van Rooyen (born (1996-08-23)23 August 1996) is a South African rugby union player for the Southern Kings in the Pro14.^[1] His regular position is hooker.

Alandré van Rooyen

Date of birth	(1996-08-23) 23 August 1996 (age 26)
Place of birth	Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb; 16 st 7 lb)
School	Nico Malan High School
University	University of Pretoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Current team London Irish Youth career 2013–2014 Eastern Province 2015–2017 Blue Bulls Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016 Blue Bulls 6 (5) 2017 Blue Bulls XV 7 (0) 2017–2020 Southern Kings 34 (5) 2018 Eastern Province Elephants 2 (10) 2020–2022 Griquas 14 (5) 2022 London Irish () Correct as of 15 February 2022

Rugby career

Schoolboy rugby

Van Rooyen was born in Port Elizabeth and represented his local Eastern Province province at the 2013 Academy Week and 2014 Craven Week tournaments. Represented Eastern Province at the u18 Provincial Sevens tournament in 2013.

Blue Bulls

After school, he joined the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls academy. He progressed through the various age-groups, representing them at Under-19 level in 2015 and Under-21 level in 2016 and 2017.

In 2016, he made his first class debut, coming on as a replacement for the Blue Bulls XV against the Sharks XV in the Currie Cup qualification series.^[2] He made two more appearances off the bench — scoring his debut try in the second of those in a 28–23 victory over the SWD Eagles^[3] — before being named in the starting lineup for the first time for their match against the Boland Cavaliers,^[4] and also started their final two matches of the competition.

Van Rooyen once again played for the Blue Bulls XV in 2017, this time in the newly-launched Rugby Challenge competition, making seven appearances.

Southern Kings

In August 2017, Van Rooyen returned to his hometown as he was one of several players loaned from the Blue Bulls to the Southern Kings as they looked to build a squad for their inaugural season in the expanded Pro14 competition.^[5] He made his debut in that competition in the team's 30–34 defeat to Welsh side Scarlets,^[6] and also appeared against Edinburgh the following week^[7] and against Munster in their match in George.^[8]

Van Rooyen was also loaned to the Eastern Province Elephants for a part of their 2018 Rugby Challenge campaign, starting their first two matches of the season against Western Province^[9] and SWD Eagles,^[10] scoring a try in each of those matches.

References

1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Alandré van Rooyen". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 22–18 Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 23–28 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 26–35 Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
5. (Press release). Bulls. 17 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
6. "Scarlets haul themselves past plucky Kings". Guinness Pro14. 26 November 2017. from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
7. "Hidalgo-Clyne stars in Edinburgh win". Guinness Pro14. 1 December 2017. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
8. "Munster fight back to beat Southern Kings". Guinness Pro14. 7 April 2018. from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
9. "SuperSport Rugby Challenge - Match 6, Pool Stage". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
10. "SuperSport Rugby Challenge - Match 7, Pool Stage". South African Rugby Union. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.