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JP Pietersen
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Jon-Paul Roger Pietersen |
| Date of birth |
July 12, 1986 (1986-07-12) (age 23) |
| Place of birth |
Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Height |
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight |
95 kg (14 st 13 lb) |
| Nickname |
JP |
| School |
Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog |
| Occupation(s) |
Professional rugby union footballer |
| Rugby union career |
| Playing career |
| Position |
fullback,wing |
| Clubs played for |
| Years |
Club / team |
Caps |
Points |
| Professional / senior clubs |
| 2005- |
Jaguars, Sharks Academy |
|
|
| Provincial/State sides |
| 2005- |
Natal Sharks |
19 |
(45) |
| correct as of 2007-04-28. |
| Super Rugby |
| 2006- |
Sharks |
18 |
(60) |
|
|
| correct as of 2007-04-28. |
| National team(s) |
| 2006- |
South Africa |
10 |
(25) |
| correct as of 2007-04-27. |
Jon-Paul Roger "JP" Pietersen (born 12 July 1986 in Stellenbosch, South Africa) is a South African rugby union footballer. He generally plays fullback or wing for the Sharks (in the Super 14 competition) and the Natal Sharks in the Currie Cup. He has ten test caps with the Springboks.
Pietersen was educated at the Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog in Witbank, but made his provincial debut with the Natal Sharks as a 19-year old during the 2005 Currie Cup season. His 2006 Super 14 season was disrupted by injuries but despite this, he was included in the South African under-21 team to compete at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. South Africa made the final, but were defeated by the hosts, France. Upon arriving back to South Africa after the under-21 World Championship he was named in the Springboks' 2006 Tri Nations Series squad where he debuted against New Zealand at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.
Pietersen's deceptive pace and gliding runs make him an unpredictable back-line player, with the ability to break the line at will and create attacking opportunities for his team. He is also a clinical finisher, and was the leading try scorer in the 2007 Super 14 competition with 12 tries from 15 games. However, Pietersen's weaknesses include his occasional susceptibility to poor handling, being particularly frail protecting the "high ball" and often "knocking on" in seemingly innocuous situations, a penchant which has often led to him being chastised by the local media and fans alike. Despite this, Pietersen remains a firm fan favourite for the unpredictable and exciting dimension his play brings to the team. Before the emergence of Francois Steyn at the Sharks franchise, Pietersen was seen as the ideal replacement for Percy Montgomery as fullback, however with Steyn being able to play at either fullback, wing or fly-half, Pietersen now finds his role as play-maker in the Sharks team divided as either wing or fullback.
He was selected into the Springboks 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. Starting in the first two matches, Pietersen scored three tries. He was impressive in the game against England, scoring two tries and setting up a third.
The top try-scorer in the 2007 Super 14 failed to score even one in 2008, a fact acknowledged by both AJ Venter and Stefan Terblanche in the October 2008 edition of SA Sports Illustrated.[1]
References
Notes
- ^ "Showdown at ... Quiz Creek" 2008, p. 32.
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