Christiaan Johannes "Basie" van Wijk (5 November 1923 – 29 August 2002) was a South African rugby union international who was capped 10 times as a flanker for the Springboks in the 1950s.
| Full name | Christiaan Johannes van Wijk | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 November 1923 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vryburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 29 August 2002 (aged 78) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Warmbad, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Born in Vryburg, van Wijk played his provincial rugby for Transvaal.[1] He debuted for South Africa on the 1951–52 Europe tour and scored four tries across the five Tests, all won by the Springboks. His career also included home Tests against the touring Australians in 1953. On the reciprocal trip to Australia in 1956, van Wijk broke his leg while training in Sydney ahead of his first tour match.[2] He was a schoolteacher by profession.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Selectors will watch Midland Counties XV". Evening Despatch. 15 January 1952.
- ^ "Springbok's Leg Broken". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 May 1956.
- ^ "South Africans' Strong Side". The Guardian. 26 September 1951.