Ryk van Schoor

Ryk Arnoldus Mauritius van Schoor (3 December 1921 – 22 March 2009) was a South African rugby union centre, a crash ball specialist he was known for his hard tackling. Van Schoor played club rugby for Inyazura RFC and provincial rugby for both Western Province and Rhodesia. He was capped for South Africa twelve times between 1949 and 1953 first representing the team against the 1949 touring New Zealand side. He was later selected for the 1951–52 South Africa rugby tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France. The touring team is seen as one of the greatest South African teams, winning 30 of the 31 matches, including all five internationals.

Personal history Van Schoor was born in Philadelphia, Western Cape in 1921 to Dirk and Catharina van Schoor. He married Leonie Krüger, who was the daughter of former international South Africa hooker Theuns Krüger.

Rugby career Van Schoor first played rugby at the age of seven, but when he entered Paarl Boys' School he was considered too small to play. As an adult he was 5-foot 9 inches in height, but was broad of shoulder and developed into one of the most feared tacklers in South Africa. and was dropped by Western Province, turning out instead for Rhodesia. Van Schoor's tackling so impressed the selectors that he, and fellow Rhodesia team-mate Salty du Rand, was chosen for the second Test at Johannesburg. This was the first of twelve consecutive international matches the van Schoor played in. He faced New Zealand twice more in the tour, both wins, 9–3 at Durban and 11–8 at Port Elizabeth.

...Ryk, who was played purely for his amazing defensive qualities and who, in association with Hennie Muller, tore our midfield attack to shreds. If you saw a cloud of dust rising from midfield like an atom-bomb cloud, you knew Van Schoor was at work. He was big and strong and nerveless. He was not really fast but he got such a kick out of making the perfect tackle that he used to clap on all speed just before going into his dive – and boy, was it a powerful dive. He was chosen for the first game of the tour, against South-Eastern Counties at Bournemouth on 19 October. South Africa won the game 31–6, van Schoor scored one of the seven Springbok tries. He was then rested for two games before playing in the win over Cardiff in Wales. After missing the game against Llanelli, van Schoor played in two back-to-back games, a win over North-Western Counties on 27 October and then an encounter with a combined Glasgow and Edinburgh team in Scotland. South Africa won the game 43–11, with van Schoor scoring another try, but he also suffered a broken rib which saw him withdraw from the squad for the next four matches. Rested against North of Scotland, van Schoor was back on the scoresheet in a win over Ulster. After just six minutes van Schoor was carried from the pitch unconscious, coming around some time later in the dressing room. Van Schoor played in three of the five final matches in Britain, all wins, against Newport, Midland Counties and the Barbarians, scoring a try in the Newport game.

1953 Australia tour of South Africa Van Schoor played in all four Tests against the touring Australia team of 1953. The first game, played at Johannesburg saw South Africa win 25–3. The next Test, played on 5 September, saw van Schoor part of a losing international side for the first, and only, time. South Africa were beaten at Cape Town by a narrow 14–18 scoreline. The loss was blamed on the Springboks desire to please the crowd by switching away from their normal kicking game, to one based on running with the ball. Van Schoor survived a cull by the selectors to retain his place for the third Test, this time played at Durban. South Africa won 18–8, needing a draw to take the series in the last game at Port Elizabeth. This was van Schoor's final international, and he finished with a victory, leaving him with a career record of 11 wins out of 12 international matches.