Reniel Hugo
![]() Reniel Hugo on a Rugby Pitch in 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Daniel Pieter Hugo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 19 July 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Bellville, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 109 kg (17 st 2 lb; 240 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Stellenbosch University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Niel Hugo (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Daniel Pieter 'Reniel' Hugo (born 19 July 1990 in Bellville, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for Toyota Verblitz in the Top League in Japan.[1] He mainly plays as a lock, but can also play as a loose forward.
Career
Western Province / Maties
His first provincial selection came in 2008, when he was included in the Template:Rut Western Province side that played at the Under-18 Craven Week competition (the premier high school rugby union competition in South Africa) which was held in Pretoria. He was also included in a South Africa Schools Elite squad named after the tournament.
After finishing high school, he joined the Western Province Academy and represented the Template:Rut Western Province U19s during the 2009 Under-19 Provincial Championship.
In 2010, he was named in the Template:Rut Maties squad for the 2010 Varsity Cup competition, but failed to make any appearances in the competition. He was a first-choice lock for Template:Rut Western Province U21 during the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship, starting thirteen matches and scoring two tries as his side won the title, beating Template:Rut Blue Bulls U21 43–32 in the final held in Durban, with Hugo playing the entire 80 minutes of the final.[2]
He had his first taste of Varsity Cup action in 2011, starting two of Template:Rut Maties' matches during the competition. He also made his first class debut in February 2011, when he started Template:Rut Western Province's 2011 Vodacom Cup match against the Template:Rut Golden Lions in a match that ended in an 18-all draw.[3] He also played against the Template:Rut Falcons in Kempton Park the following week in an 86–14 win.[4] In the latter half of 2011, he once again played for Template:Rut Western Province U21s in the Under-21 Provincial Championship, making 12 appearances as they reached the semi-final of the competition before being eliminated by the Template:Rut Sharks U21.[5]
Hugo was a key played for Template:Rut Maties in the Varsity Cup competitions in 2012 and 2013, helping them reach the final for successive seasons, but ending on the losing side on both occasions. In 2013, he scored a try in each of their first three matches of the season to set them on their way to topping the log with seven wins out of seven before eventually losing to Template:Rut UP Tuks in the final.[6]
Blue Bulls / UP Tuks
Hugo made the move to Pretoria to join defending Varsity Cup champions Template:Rut UP Tuks for the 2014 Varsity Cup season.[7] He started all seven of their matches and scored tries against Template:Rut Wits[8] and Template:Rut UFS Shimlas,[9] but could not help Tuks into the play-offs, finishing in sixth spot on the log.
After his side's elimination from the Varsity Cup, he was included in the Template:Rut Blue Bulls' squad for the 2014 Vodacom Cup. He made his Blue Bulls debut in the trans-Jukskei clash against the Template:Rut Golden Lions, coming on as a second-half replacement to help his side to a 22–20 victory.[10] He also played off the bench in their next match against the Template:Rut Leopards XV in Leeudoringstad and scored his first senior try in the match to help them to a 30–26 victory.[11] Another appearance off the bench against the Template:Rut Falcons[12] was followed by his first start in Blue Bulls colours in a 114–0 victory against the Template:Rut Limpopo Blue Bulls in their final match in the group stages.[13] The Blue Bulls finished third in the Northern Section of the Vodacom Cup to qualify to the quarter finals; Hugo started their 22–21 victory in the quarter final against the Template:Rut Free State XV[14] and played off the bench in the semi-final, as the Template:Rut Golden Lions reversed the result from earlier in the campaign, winning 16–15 to eliminate the Blue Bulls from the competition.[15]
Hugo started all eight of Template:Rut UP Tuks' matches during the 2015 Varsity Cup, scoring three tries. They topped the log after the regular season to qualify for the semi-final, but lost 28–29 to the Template:Rut NWU Pukke in Pretoria.[16]
Hugo's personal contributions didn't go unnoticed, however, and he was named in a Varsity Cup Dream Team at the conclusion of the tournament. He was also appointed as captain of the side which played one match against the South Africa Under-20s in Stellenbosch.[17][18]
He also made one further appearance for the Template:Rut Blue Bulls in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, helping them to a 44–0 victory against Namibian side Template:Rut Welwitschias in Windhoek.[19]
Free State Cheetahs
At the conclusion of the 2015 Varsity Cup, it was announced that Hugo would join Bloemfontein-based side the Template:Rut Free State Cheetahs on a deal until the end of 2016.[20][21]
Personal
His father, Niel Hugo, was also a rugby union player;[22] he played in two test matches for South Africa in 1989 and made 146 appearances for Template:Rut Western Province in the 1980s and 1990s.[21]
References
- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Reniel Hugo". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 32–43 Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 18–18 MTN Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Valke 14–86 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province 12–19 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB Maties 5–44 FNB UP-Tuks 1". South African Rugby Union. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Maties lock off to Bulls country". Sport24. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB WITS 8–53 FNB UP - TUKS". South African Rugby Union. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 26–0 FNB UFS SHIMLAS". South African Rugby Union. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 22–20 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards XV 26–30 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 54–7 Valke". South African Rugby Union. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 116–0 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Toyota Free State XV 21–22 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 15–16 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 28–29 FNB NWU-PUKKE". South African Rugby Union. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Smith takes charge of Dream Team". Varsity Cup. 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24–31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB Welwitschias 0–44 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Matie, Tukkie en nou 'n Cheetah" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Cheetahs sign Reniel Hugo". OFM. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Niel Hugo". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.