Hansie Brewis

Johannes Daniel "Hannes" Brewis (15 June 1920 – 9 September 2007) was a South African rugby union player. He was capped for South Africa ten times, and was selected to play for the Springboks on the 1951–52 South Africa rugby tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France; playing in all five international games of that tour. The touring team of 1951/52 is seen as one of the greatest South African teams, winning 30 of the 31 matches, including all five internationals. Brewis represented Northern Transvaal at regional level and is recognised as one of the great South African rugby players of the 1940s and early 1950s.

Personal history Brewis was born in Oudtshoorn, South Africa in 1920. He was educated at Oudtshoorn Boys' High and Langenhoven Commercial before moving to Pretoria. He became a police officer, and by the 1960s was a police warrant officer in Pretoria. On 28 September 1946 he married Priscilla Wilcocks of Bloemfontein The minister was persuaded to change his mind and Brewis and Priscilla were married that day. South Africa rugby legend, Hennie Muller, who made his name during the New Zealand tour, stated that the Springbok team was 'plainly worried' before the game and there were concerns as 'Hansie Brewis and Ballie Wahl, hardly new each other'. Despite the pre-match concerns the first Test of the series, played at Cape Town, saw South Africa beat New Zealand 15–11, all the South African points coming from penalties from Okey Geffin. The second Test, played at Johannesburg, saw Brewis score his first international points, with a dropped goal and a try in a 12–6 victory. The final two Tests of the tour both ended in South African victories, a whitewash for New Zealand. Brewis played in both, and in the fourth Test was on the scoreboard again with another dropped goal. The same match also saw du Toit score his first international score with a try. Although on a rota system, when the international games came around, Brewis and du Toit were always first choice selections. Brewis scored in the first three internationals, all South Africa wins, with dropped goals against Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In both the Ireland and Wales matches Brewis had scored his dropped goals after an earlier miss. In the Wales game his score was vital, as the South Africans won by a narrow 6–3 margin. Brewis finished the tour as the team's seventh highest scorer with 27 points, five tries and four dropped goals.

On his return to South Africa, Brewis was selected for one last international, the first Test of the 1953 touring Australia team. Played at Johannesburg, Brewis came into the squad partnered at centre with Hansie Oelofse. South Africa won 25–3. This was Brewis' final international, he had played in ten games, scored 18 points and never appeared on a losing side.