Piston van Wyk

Jacobus Frederick Beatrix "Piston" van Wyk (21 December 1943 – 9 August 2026) was a South African rugby union player.

Playing career

Van Wyk played most of his provincial rugby in South Africa with and also played one season with . He made his test debut for the Springboks in 1970 against New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and played in all four tests during the series against the touring All Blacks. In 1971 he played in the test series against France and Australia and in 1972, he was the hooker in the losing test against at Ellis Park. He then played three tests against the 1974 British Lions and two tests against the 1976 All Blacks. He also played four tour matches for the Springboks.

Test history

No. Opponents Results(SA 1st) Position Tries Dates Venue 1. 17–6 Hooker 25 July 1970 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 2. New Zealand 8–9 Hooker 8 August 1970 Newlands, Cape Town 3. New Zealand 14–3 Hooker 29 August 1970 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 4. New Zealand 20–17 Hooker 12 September 1970 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 5. 22–9 Hooker 12 June 1971 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 6. France 8–8 Hooker 19 June 1971 Kings Park, Durban 7. 19–11 Hooker 17 July 1971 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 8. Australia 14–6 Hooker 31 July 1971 Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane 9. Australia 18–6 Hooker 7 August 1971 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 10. 9–18 Hooker 3 June 1972 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 11. 3–12 Hooker 8 June 1974 Newlands, Cape Town 12. British Lions 9–26 Hooker 13 July 1974 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 13. British Lions 13–13 Hooker 27 July 1974 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 14. 15–10 Hooker 4 September 1976 Newlands, Cape Town 15. New Zealand 15–14 Hooker 18 September 1976 Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Death

Van Wyk died on 9 August 2026, at the age of 82.