Arno van Wyk explained

Arno van Wyk
Birth Date:19 May 1994
Birth Place:Parow, South Africa
Weight:1060NaN0
University:University of Pretoria
Position:Hooker
Youthyears1:2013–2015
Youthyears2:2016–2017
Years1:2014–2015
Apps1:11
Points1:20
Years2:2016–present
Apps2:6
Points2:0
Amatyears1:2014
Amatapps1:3
Amatpoints1:5
Repyears1:2014
Repteam1:South Africa Under-20
Repcaps1:0
Reppoints1:0
Clubupdate:7 January 2017

Arno van Wyk (born 19 May 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player, currently playing with French side in the Top 14 competition. He usually plays as a hooker.[1]

Rugby career

Blue Bulls

Van Wyk was born in Parow, but was never selected to represent at school level. He moved to Pretoria after school to join the academy prior to the 2013 season and made thirteen appearances for a side that won the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring tries in matches against the Leopards and Border.

He made three appearances for in the 2014 Varsity Cup, scoring a try in his side's 26–16 victory over . He made his first class debut on 25 April 2014, coming on as a replacement for the final half an hour of their match against the and scoring a try in his side's 116–0 victory. He made one more appearance as a replacement in the competition and was then called up to the South Africa Under-20 team. He was not initially named in the team, but replaced Malcolm Marx in the squad after he picked up an injury after their first match of the competition.[2] Despite his call-up, Van Wyk failed to make an appearance in the competition. He returned to domestic action to make seven appearances for the s in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, including in the final which was won by the Blue Bulls after beating Western Province 20–10 in Cape Town.

Van Wyk made nine appearances for the Blue Bulls in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, starting eight of those. He scored tries in matches against the, and on the Blue Bulls' journey to the semi-final, where they lost 6–10 to . A further nine appearances followed in the Under-21 team's Provincial Championship campaign, where he scored one try in their match against the Leopards.

Montpellier

At the start of 2016, Van Wyk moved to France to join Top 14 side . He joined as a medical joker for the injured Charles Geli, also signing a youth contract with the team. He made his debut for the senior team in their Round 23 match against, replacing Mickaël Ivaldi for the second half of the match,[3] and was named in the senior squad for the 2016–17 season.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Van Wyk MHR . Montpellier Hérault Rugby . 17 August 2016 . French . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160828130946/http://www.montpellier-rugby.com/joueur/van-wyk . 28 August 2016 . dmy-all .
  2. News: Van Wyk joins Junior Boks squad . IOL Sport . 7 June 2014 . 17 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160817084732/http://www.iol.co.za/sport/rugby/van-wyk-joins-junior-boks-squad-1700058 . 17 August 2016.
  3. Web site: Top14 - La Rochelle - 07/05/2016 . Montpellier Hérault Rugby . 7 May 2016 . 17 August 2016 . French.
  4. Web site: Effectif MHR . Montpellier Hérault Rugby . 17 August 2016 . French . https://web.archive.org/web/20160817082519/http://www.montpellier-rugby.com/effectif . 17 August 2016.