Gert De Kock
| Date of birth | 19 April 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
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Gert De Kock (born 1980) is a retired South African rugby union player who played at Fly-half or Full-back.[1] A highly skilled player that could both kick points and score tries, he became one of the top try scorers in National League 2 South history, with 80 tries scored during his spells playing for Westcombe Park and Canterbury.[2]
Career
Westcombe Park
In 2003-04 Gert had an outstanding debut season with Westcombe Park, scoring 19 tries in just 22 games to finish as top try scorer in a Park side that finished 9th in National Division 3 South.[3] A second season with the Orpington based side was not as successful for him with only 7 league tries but he did play a role in a successful Powergen Cup run which saw Westcombe Park reach the 5th round, ultimately losing to second division side, Otley, 16-45, away to the Yorkshire side.[4]
Canterbury
In the summer of 2005, after two seasons with Westcombe Park, Gert would drop a division to play for fellow Kent club, Canterbury and he got off to a good start as Canterbury claimed a league and cup double by first winning promotion from London Division 1 and then retaining the Kent Cup by beating Blackheath.[5] The 2006-07 season would be Canterbury's first ever in National Division 3 South but despite being a newly promoted side the club took it in their stride, finishing 4th in the final league standings, as well as winning the Kent Cup once more.[6] Gert, who had experience of the league from his time with Westcombe Park, struck up a good partnership with team-mate Michael Melford and the two players shared 36 tries between them, with Gert getting 20, resulting in him becoming the 4th most prolific try scorer in the division that season. 2007-08 would see Canterbury maintain their position in the division with another 4th-place finish. Gert also started to share kicking duties with team-mate, Sam Rasch, and scored 121 points that year, including 14 tries. The club would also claim their fourth successive Kent Cup at the end of the season.[7] 2008-09 would see Canterbury drop one position to 5th in the league standings with Gert becoming the main kicker at the club and ending up with a career best tally of 223 points for the season, making him the 3rd top points scorer in the division that year.
After a relatively uneventful 2009-10 in which Canterbury finished 7th, the 2010-11 season would be a difficult one for the club. Gert featured in almost every game that year but was unable to prevent the club sliding into the relegation zone. The relegation battle actually went down to the last game of the season when Gert's former team, Westcombe Park, came up to Merton Park for the sides rescheduled league fixture on the 7th May 2011. Unfortunately for Canterbury, Westcombe Park got a couple of late tries to win the game by 25 points to 18. The result meant that Westcombe Park leap-frogged Canterbury to remain safe by just 1 point, while Canterbury would drop down to National League 3 London & SE.[8]
Season-by-season playing stats
| Season | Club | Competition | Appearances | Tries | Drop Goals | Conversions | Penalties | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | Westcombe Park | National Division 3 South | 22 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 |
| 2004-05 | National Division 3 South | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | |
| Powergen Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2005-06 | Canterbury | London Division 1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006-07 | National Division 3 South | 26 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007-08 | National Division 3 South | 25 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 121 | |
| 2008-09 | National Division 3 South | 25 | 9 | 0 | 56 | 22 | 223 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 2009-10 | National League 2 South | 20 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 45 | |
| 2010-11 | National League 2 South | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
Honours & Records
Westcombe Park
- National Division 3 South top try scorer: 2003-04 (19 tries)[3]
Canterbury
- London Division 1 champions: 2005-06
- Kent Cup winners (3): 2006, 2007, 2008
References
- ^ "Gert De Kock Details". Rugby Statbunker. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "National Two South All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 25 December 2015.
- ^ a b "National Three South 03/04 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 17 April 2004.
- ^ "Powergen Cup 2004/05 Match overview Otley VS Westcombe Park". Rugby Statbunker. 6 November 2004.
- ^ "City slickers make rugger history". Kent Online. 12 April 2006.
- ^ "Kent Cup 2007 Match Report". Canterbury RFC. 4 April 2007.
- ^ "Fourth straight Kent Cup win for Canterbury". Kent Online. 28 April 2008.
- ^ "Westcombe Park survive drop on final day". BBC News. 10 March 2011.
- ^ "Gert De Kock Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. 7 May 2011.