Cobus Visagie

Izak Jacobus "Cobus" Visagie (born 31 October 1973) is a South African former rugby union footballer who played at tighthead prop.

Early life Visagie attended the Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch and then studied auditing and accounting at Stellenbosch University, where he also played for Maties (Stellenbosch University) and Western Province Rugby representing the under–20 and under–21 teams.

Visagie finished his Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in accounting and audit at Stellenbosch University in 1996. He worked seven years for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a chartered accountant, whilst playing professional rugby.

Playing career Visagie made his provincial rugby debut for in 1997 and continued to represent the union as well as the Super Rugby team, the until 2003.

Visagie won three Currie Cups with Western Province Rugby, the last in 2001 with a home win (at Newlands, Cape Town) over the Natal Sharks. He also earned 46 Super 12 caps with the Stormers. He earned 29 caps for his country and was part of the Springbok team that reached the 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi Final. He was selected to the team of the tournament with fellow Springbok frontrow Os du Randt.

Visagie moved to the United Kingdom to play for the English Premiership club Saracens after being passed over for the 2003 World Cup Springbok squad. He played 121 games for Saracens and was voted into the Guinness Premiership team of the season for three consecutive years. He also represented the Barbarians (8 caps), World XV (3 caps) and the Southern Hemisphere XV that played in the Tsunami Relief game at Twickenham, before retiring from professional rugby in May 2009.

Test history No. Opposition Result (SA 1st) Position Tries Date Venue 1. 74–3 Tighthead prop 12 Jun 1999 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2. 19–29 Tighthead prop 26 Jun 1998 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 3. 0–28 Tighthead prop 10 Jul 1999 Carisbrook, Dunedin 4. 6–32 Tighthead prop 17 Jul 1999 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 5. 18–34 Tighthead prop 7 Aug 1999 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 6. 10–9 Tighthead prop 14 Aug 1999 Newlands, Cape Town 7. 46–29 Tighthead prop 3 Oct 1999 Murrayfield, Edinburgh 8. 39–3 Tighthead prop 15 Oct 1999 Hampden Park, Glasgow 9. 44–21 Tighthead prop 24 Oct 1999 Stade de France, Paris 10. 21–27 Tighthead prop 30 Oct 1999 Twickenham, London 11. 22–18 Tighthead prop 4 Nov 1999 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 12. 51–18 Tighthead prop 10 Jun 2000 Basil Kenyon Stadium, East London 13. 22–27 Tighthead prop 24 Jun 2000 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 14. 23–44 Tighthead prop 8 Jul 2000 Colonial Stadium, Melbourne 15. 12–25 Tighthead prop 22 Jul 2000 Jade Stadium, Christchurch 16. 6–26 Tighthead prop 29 Jul 2000 Stadium Australia, Sydney 17. 46–40 Tighthead prop 19 Aug 2000 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 18. 18–19 Tighthead prop 26 Aug 2000 Kings Park, Durban 19. 3–12 Tighthead prop 21 Jul 2001 Newlands, Cape Town 20. 20–15 Tighthead prop 28 Jul 2001 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria21. 14–14 Tighthead prop 18 Aug 2001 Subiaco Oval, Perth22. 15–26 Tighthead prop 25 Aug 2001 Eden Park, Auckland 23. 10–20 Tighthead prop 10 Nov 2001 Stade de France, Paris 24. 54–26 Substitute 17 Nov 2001 Stadio Marassi, Genova 25. 9–29 Substitute 24 Nov 2001 Twickenham, London 26. 43–20 Tighthead prop 1 Dec 2001 Robertson Stadium, Houston 27. 29–25 Substitute 7 Jun 2003 Kings Park, Durban 28. 28–19 Substitute 14 Jun 2003 Ellis Park, Johannesburg29. 26–25 Tighthead prop 28 Jun 2003 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Later career Visagie joined Premier Team Holdings Limited as Commercial Director of the Group of four companies based in the United Kingdom. In 2011, he was appointed Principal for Africa at Templewood Merchant Bank.

Accolades Visagie was one of the five South African Rugby players of the Year for 1999, along with Breyton Paulse, Joost van der Westhuizen, Hennie le Roux and the eventual winner of Player of the Year, Andre Venter.