Jacobus Christoffel Entienne Swanepoel (born 9 March 1993) is a South African born Italian rugby union player for Italian Top12 side Rugby Rovigo Delta.[1][2] His regular position is tighthead prop.

Entienne Swanepoel
Full nameJacobus Christoffel Entienne Swanepoel
Date of birth (1993-03-09) 9 March 1993 (age 31)
Place of birthSasolburg, South Africa
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight124 kg (273 lb; 19 st 7 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Tygerberg, Cape Town
Rugby union career
Position(s) Tighthead prop
Current team Rugby Rovigo Delta
Youth career
2011–2014 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 Western Province 8 (0)
2015 Boland Cavaliers 1 (0)
2016 Blue Bulls 13 (0)
2017 Stade Français 2 (0)
2017 Southern Kings 4 (0)
2018Eastern Province Elephants 1 (0)
2018–2019 Valsugana 21 (5)
2019–2020 Petrarca Padova 8 (0)
2020–present Rovigo Delta ()
Correct as of 30 April 2020
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021−2022 Italy A 3 0

Club career edit

Western Province edit

Swanepoel was born in Sasolburg, but grew up in Cape Town. He was selected to represent Western Province at the premier high schools rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week, held in Kimberley in 2011.[3]

After high school, he joined the Western Province Academy and made seven appearances for their Under-19 team in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship. However, he missed out on the title play-offs, which saw his side crowned champions by beating the Blue Bulls U19 team 22–18 in Durban.[4]

He made nine appearances for their Under-21 team that finished top of the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship to qualify for the semi-finals.[5] This time, Swanepoel did play in the play-off matches, starting their 44–41 victory over the Golden Lions in the semi-final[6] and their 30–23 victory over the Blue Bulls in the final.[7]

At the start of the following year, Swanepoel was included in the Western Province squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup.[8] He made his first class debut in their opening match of the competition against near-neighbours Boland Cavaliers in a 16–8 victory.[9] He made a further four starts during the regular season, helping Western Province to finish in fourth position in the Southern Section.[10] He also started in their quarter final match, where a 13–8 defeat to the Pumas ended their interest in the competition.[11] He started in Western Province U21s' opening match of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship,[12] but suffered a knee injury that ruled him out of the remainder of 2014.[13]

He returned to action for Western Province during the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition, making two appearances; he started their 34–6 victory over the Border Bulldogs[14] and came on as a replacement in their 47–22 win over a Leopards XV.[15]

He was named in their senior squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division,[16] but failed to make any appearances. He was loaned to the Boland Cavaliers, where he made his Currie Cup debut by coming on as a replacement in their 17–61 defeat to the Leopards in Potchefstroom, his only appearance in the competition.[17]

Blue Bulls edit

In August 2015, the Blue Bulls announced that they secured Swanepoel's services until October 2017.[18] He made his debut for them in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series by starting in their 16–30 defeat to his former side, Western Province,[19] making a total of ten appearances in the competition. He was then named in their squad for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.[20]

Stade Français edit

Swanepoel joined French Top 14 side Stade Français at the start of 2017.[21]

Southern Kings edit

He returned to South Africa to join the Southern Kings for their first season in the expanded Pro14 competition.[22] He was used as a replacement in their first two matches of the season against Scarlets[23] and Connacht,[24] but suffered a concussion that ruled him out for their next two matches. After a further two appearances as a replacement against the Dragons[25] and Benetton,[26] he suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for six weeks, but he failed to make any further appearances during the season.

He made a single appearance for the Eastern Province Elephants on loan from the Kings in the domestic Rugby Challenge competition, starting their opening match of the competition against Western Province.[27]

Valsugana, Petrarca, Rovigo edit

In July 2018, Italian side Valsugana announced that Swanepoel would join them for their inaugural season in the Top12 following promotion from Serie A.[28][29] The following season, Swanepoel signed a one-year contract with the other team from Padova, Petrarca. After the premature cancellation of the championship amidst the COVID-19 emergency, on April 30, 2020, he was subsequently drafted by Rugby Rovigo Delta for the incoming season [30]

International career edit

On the 14 October 2021, he was selected by Alessandro Troncon to be part of an Italy A 28-man squad and on 16 December was named in Emerging Italy squad for the 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[31][32]

References edit

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Entienne Swanepoel". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ rugbyrovigodelta. "Dettaglio news". Rugby Rovigo Delta (in Italian). Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – WP : 2011 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 22–18 Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2013 Absa Under 21 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 44–41 MTN Golden Lions U21". South African Rugby Union. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30–23 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – DHL Western Province : 2014 Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 16–8 Regent Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2014 Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Steval Pumas 13–8 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 20–17 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Du Preez back for WP Under-21s" (Press release). Western Province. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 34–6 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 47–22 Leopards XV". South African Rugby Union. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – DHL Western Province : 2015 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 61–17 Boland". South African Rugby Union. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  18. ^ "Established Springboks to continue careers with Blue Bulls" (Press release). Blue Bulls. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  19. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30–16 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  20. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – Vodacom Blue Bulls : 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Bulle verkoop 'n 'droom'". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Michael Willemse to captain Southern Kings on first Guinness PRO14 tour" (Press release). Southern Kings. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  23. ^ "Scarlets seal sensational opening win over Southern Kings". Guinness Pro14. 2 September 2017. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  24. ^ "Connacht up and running with victory over Southern Kings". Guinness Pro14. 9 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  25. ^ "Amos and Dee power Dragons to comfortable victory". Guinness Pro14. 30 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  26. ^ "Benetton cruise to bonus-point triumph over Southern Kings". Guinness Pro14. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  27. ^ "SuperSport Rugby Challenge - Match 6, Pool Stage". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Continua a rinforzarsi la #whitebluearmy per la prossima stagione" (Press release) (in Italian). Valgusana Rugby. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Valsugana e Verona Promosse in Eccellenza" (Press release) (in Italian). Italian Rugby Federation. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Rugby Rovigo: ingaggiato il sudafricano Entienne Swanepoel - I Bersagieri si muovono in vista della stagione di Top12 2020/21" (Press release) (in Italian). Rugby Meet. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Italia A, gli azzurri convocati per il match contro la Spagna". FIR (in Italian). 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  32. ^ "ITALIA EMERGENTI, CONVOCATO SWANEPOEL PER IL MATCH CONTRO LA ROMANIA". Italy Rugby Union (in Italian). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.