Piston van Wyk

Piston van Wyk

Birth name	Jacobus Frederick Beatrix van Wyk
Date of birth	(1943-12-21) 21 December 1943
Place of birth	Vereeniging, Gauteng
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	86 kg (190 lb)
School	John Orr Technical High School, Johannesburg
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1970–1975 Northern Transvaal () 1976 Natal () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1970–1976 South Africa 15

Jacobus Frederick Beatrix 'Piston' van Wyk (born 21 December 1943) is a former South African rugby union player.

Playing career

Van Wyk played most of his provincial rugby in South Africa with Northern Transvaal and also played one season with Natal. He made his test debut for the Springboks in 1970 against New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and played in all four tests during the series against the touring All Blacks. In 1971 he played in the test series against France and Australia and in 1972, he was the hooker in the losing test against England at Ellis Park. He then played three tests against the 1974 British Lions and two tests against the 1976 All Blacks. He also played four tour matches for the Springboks.

Test history

No.	Opponents	Results (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Dates	Venue
1.	New Zealand	17–6	Hooker		25 July 1970	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2.	New Zealand	8–9	Hooker		8 August 1970	Newlands, Cape Town
3.	New Zealand	14–3	Hooker		29 August 1970	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
4.	New Zealand	20–17	Hooker		12 September 1970	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
5.	France	22–9	Hooker		12 June 1971	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
6.	France	8–8	Hooker		19 June 1971	Kings Park, Durban
7.	Australia	19–11	Hooker		17 July 1971	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
8.	Australia	14–6	Hooker		31 July 1971	Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane
9.	Australia	18–6	Hooker		7 August 1971	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
10.	England	9–18	Hooker		3 June 1972	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
11.	British Lions	3–12	Hooker		8 June 1974	Newlands, Cape Town
12.	British Lions	9–26	Hooker		13 July 1974	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
13.	British Lions	13–13	Hooker		27 July 1974	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
14.	New Zealand	15–10	Hooker		4 September 1976	Newlands, Cape Town
15.	New Zealand	15–14	Hooker		18 September 1976	Ellis Park, Johannesburg

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 445