Jacques Verwey

Tobie Jacques Verwey (born 9 December 1989 in Middelburg, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who most recently played with the Falcons. His regular position is flanker.

Career

Youth

At school level, Verwey played for Hoërskool Middelburg, where he earned an inclusion in the Pumas Under-18 side for the Academy Week tournament in 2007 and also played for the Pumas U19 side in the 2007 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He captained the school's first team in 2008 and played for the Pumas U21 side in the 2008 Under-21 Provincial Championship before a spell with the Blue Bulls U19s in the Under-19 Provincial Championship.

Pumas

In 2009, he returned to the Pumas, signing an Under-21 contract with the Witbank-based side. He made his first class debut during the 2009 Vodacom Cup competition, coming on as a substitute in their 42–18 victory over the Griffons in Welkom. While mainly playing for the Pumas U21 side during the 2009 Under-21 Provincial Championship, he also made three appearances in the 2009 Currie Cup First Division. His Currie Cup debut came playing off the bench in a match against the Mighty Elephants in Uitenhage. After one more substitute appearance against the Border Bulldogs in East London, he made his first start in the competition against the Griffons in Witbank.

Blue Bulls and UP Tuks

He returned to Pretoria in 2010, making a single appearance for the Blue Bulls U21 side in the 2010 Under-21 Provincial Championship, as well as playing club rugby for university side UP Tuks in the Carlton League.

He also represented UP Tuks in three editions of the Varsity Cup competition. He made seven appearances for them in the 2011 Varsity Cup, helping them reach the final, where they lost 26–16 to the UCT Ikey Tigers, with Verwey playing the last twenty minutes of that match. They went one better in 2012, winning the competition for the first time, with Verwey starting all nine of their matches during the competition and scoring tries in their regular season matches against NWU Pukke and NMMU Madibaz. He played in six matches of the 2013 Varsity Cup competition as UP Tuks successfully defended their title, with Verwey starting the final and helping them beat the Maties 44–5 in Stellenbosch.

During this time, he also made two substitute appearances for the Blue Bulls in the Vodacom Cup competition – one in semi-finals of the 2012 semi-final and one in the 2013 Vodacom Cup, both times against Griquas in Kimberley.

Falcons

In 2013, Verwey moved to the East Rand to join the Falcons. He immediately established himself as a first-team regular, starting twelve of their matches during the 2013 Currie Cup First Division.

He made five starts in the 2014 Vodacom Cup for the Falcons, which included a memorable match for Verwey as a scored a hat-trick of tries in their 65–14 victory over the whipping boys of the competition, the Limpopo Blue Bulls. He also played in all six of their matches (contributing one try in their match against the Border Bulldogs) during the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series as the Falcons failed to qualify for the Premier Division of the competition, instead securing a spot in the 2014 Currie Cup First Division.