Jon-Paul Roger "JP" Pietersen (born 12 July 1986 in Stellenbosch, South Africa) is a South African former rugby union player for the Sharks in the Currie Cup. He generally played fullback or wing, but occasionally he played at outside centre. He played in 69 tests for the Springboks.
Youth and early career
Pietersen was educated at the Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog in Witbank, but made his provincial debut with the Sharks as a 19-year-old during the 2005 Currie Cup season. His 2006 Super 14 season was disrupted by injuries but despite this, he was included in the South African under-21 team to compete at the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. South Africa made the final, but were defeated by the hosts, France.
Pietersen's deceptive pace and gliding runs make him an unpredictable back-line player, with the ability to break the line at will and create attacking opportunities for his team. He is also a clinical finisher, and was the leading try scorer in the 2007 Super 14 competition with 12 tries from 15 games. Pietersen remains a firm fan favourite for the unpredictable and exciting dimension his play brings to the team. Before the emergence of François Steyn at the Sharks franchise, Pietersen was seen as the ideal replacement for Percy Montgomery as fullback, however with Steyn being able to play at fullback, wing or fly-half, Pietersen focused on wing as his primary position, and it is in this role that most of his appearances have been made for club and country.
He was selected into the Springboks 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. Starting in the first two matches, Pietersen scored three tries. He was impressive in the game against England, scoring two tries and setting up a third.
However, post World Cup Pietersen went on to establish the most capped wing combination in Springbok history with Bryan Habana, standing currently at 25 tests, ten more than next best, James Small and Jaques Olivier. Aside from his obvious attacking abilities, Pietersen is widely regarded for his outstanding defence. His cover defence being the saving grace of the Springbok's 2008 End of Year Tour, manfully keeping the Welsh at bay, and dominating his opposite Shane Williams. His all-round skills remain of the highest standard, maturing into one of the best wings since South Africa's readmission to international sport.
Pietersen was called up for South Africa's 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign starting the first game in a 17–16 victory for the Springboks against Wales. South Africa then thrashed Fiji 49–3 with Pietersen this time playing on the left wing. Pietersen did not play when South Africa thrashed Namibia 87–0. He started again on the right wing as South Africa squeezed past Samoa 13–5. South Africa were then through to the quarter-finals of the world cup. South Africa were then knocked out of the tournament losing 11–9 against Australia. He has also scored 4 tries in the 2015 world cup.
Pietersen signed a three-year deal to join English Premiership side Leicester Tigers prior to the 2016–2017 season.[6] However, as of 20 June 2017, Pieterson was granted early release from Welford Road to join top French club Toulon in the Top 14 from the 2017–18 season.[7]
Notes
^ abIn addition to playing in test matches, Pietersen featured in four non-test matches for South Africa.[1] Two of these were international tour matches, and in 2014[2] and 2015,[3] he played in matches against a World XV in Cape Town. These matches have an equivalent status to international tour matches, but were played on home soil.
References
^South African Rugby Annual 2017. South African Rugby Union. 2017. p. 66. ISBN978-0-620-74427-0.
^South African Rugby Annual 2015. South African Rugby Union. 2015. p. 104. ISBN978-0-620-62087-1.
^South African Rugby Annual 2016. South African Rugby Union. 2016. pp. 124–125. ISBN978-0-620-69290-8.
