Rudi Visagie

Rudolf Gerhardus Visagie (born 27 June 1959 in Nelspruit, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player, who played lock.

Playing career Visagie made his provincial debut for the Free State in 1980. He played 109 matches for Free State during the seven seasons with the union. In 1987, Visagie joined the Natal and also played 109 matches in seven seasons for Natal. After Natal, Visagie played for Lowveld and South Eastern Transvaal.

Visagie made his test debut for the Springboks in 1984 against the touring English team captained by John Scott. Visagie played in all four test matches during the 1984 season, after which nine years lapsed before his next test match in 1993 against France. Visagie also toured with the Springboks to Australia in 1993. He did not play in any tests during the 1993 tour, but played in 4 tour matches, scoring one try. He was known for his great ball- and running skills, and was a very strong scrummaging lock.

Test history

No. Opposition Result (SA 1st) Position Tries Date Venue 1. 33–15 Lock 2 June 1984 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth 2. England 35–9 Lock 9 June 1984 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 3. 24px South American Jaguars 32–15 Lock 20 October 1984 Loftus Versveld, Pretoria 4. 24px South American Jaguars 21–13 Lock 27 October 1984 Newlands, Cape Town 5. 20–20 Lock 26 June 1993 Kings Park, Durban

Trivia With a weight of 138 kg, Visagie holds the record as the heaviest Springbok rugby player.