Rudi Visagie


Rudolf Gerhardus Visagie 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.OppositionResult PositionTriesDateVenue
1.33–15Lock2 June 1984Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
2. England35–9Lock9 June 1984Ellis Park, Johannesburg
3. South American Jaguars32–15Lock20 October 1984Loftus Versveld, Pretoria
4. South American Jaguars21–13Lock27 October 1984Newlands, Cape Town
5.20–20Lock26 June 1993Kings Park, Durban

Trivia

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