Hendrik Petrus Jordaan Bekker (11 February 1925 — 6 August 1999) was a South African rugby union international.
| Full name | Hendrik Petrus Jordaan Bekker | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 11 February 1925 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dordrecht, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 6 August 1999 (aged 74) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Born in Dordrecht, Bekker was the eldest of three brothers to play for the Springboks. Another brother, Daniel Bekker, was a two-time Olympic medalist in boxing.[1] He also had a sister who was a national record holder for shot put.[2]
Bekker was capped in 15 Test matches for the Springboks, debuting against England at Twickenham in 1952. A prop, he appeared in all six Tests for the Springboks on the 1956 tour of Australia and New Zealand, including a match up against All Blacks enforcer Kevin Skinner which left him bloodied.[3] He announced his retirement in 1957.[4]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Five of family star in sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 1956.
- ^ "Cassiem brothers show the talent is there, hockey needs a brave sponsor". TimesLIVE. 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Kevin Skinner: All Black celebrated for a hard-man display against South Africa in 1956 which entered sporting mythology". The Independent. 25 July 2014.
- ^ "A Famous Rugger Tourist". Leicester Mercury. 18 January 1957.