Gysie Pienaar

Zacharias Matheus Johannes 'Gysie' Pienaar (born 21 December 1954 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player.

Playing career

Pienaar played for the Free State and the Springboks. He made his test debut against the visiting South American Jaguars team on 3 May 1980 as a replacement in the second half for Pierre Edwards. His first starting cap for the Springboks was on 31 May 1980 at Newlands in Cape Town against the touring British and Irish Lions team captained by Bill Beaumont.

Pienaar was capped 13 times for the Springboks, scored 2 tries and converted two penalty goals for a total of 14 test points.

Test history

No. Opposition Result (SA 1st) Position Points Date Venue 1.24px South American Jaguars 18–9 Replacement 3 May 1980 Kings Park Stadium, Durban2. 26–22 Full-back 31 May 1980 Newlands, Cape Town3. British Lions 26–19 Full-back 4 (1 try) 14 June 1980 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein4. British Lions 12–10 Full-back 28 June 1980 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth5. British Lions 13–17 Full-back 6 (2 penalties) 12 July 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria6. 24px South American Jaguars 22–13 Full-back 18 October 1980 Wanderers Club, Montevideo7. 24px South American Jaguars 30–16 Full-back 25 October 1980 Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago8. 37–15 Full-back 4 (1 try) 8 November 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria9. 23–15 Full-back 30 May 1981 Newlands, Cape Town10. Ireland 12–10 Full-back 6 June 1981 Kings Park Stadium, Durban11. 9–14 Full Back 15 August 1981 Lancaster Park, Christchurch12. New Zealand 24–12 Full-back 29 August 1981 Athletic Park, Wellington13. New Zealand 22–25 Full Back 12 September 1981 Eden Park, Auckland

Accolades Pienaar was named the SA Rugby Player of the Year for 1980.

Personal Pienaar is the father of Ruan Pienaar, a professional rugby player and former Springbok.