De Wet Kruger
Quick Facts
Biography
De Wet Kruger (born 18 November 1991 in Randfontein, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player forGriquas in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is number eight or flanker.
Career
Western Province
After high school, Kruger joined the Western Province Rugby Institute for the 2010 season and made three starts forWestern Province U19 during the 2010 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He featured during the regular season of the competition to help Western Province finish top of the log. They eventually won the competition, beating theBlue Bulls U19s 26–20 in the final in Durban.
Free State Cheetahs / UFS Shimlas
Kruger moved to Bloemfontein for the 2011 season. He was included in theFree State U21 squad for the 2011 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but failed to feature in any matches.
He did play for the Under-21 side in the 2012 edition, however, making three appearances during the regular season as his side finished in fourth spot to claim the final semi-final berth. Kruger scored a try on the hour mark in their semi-final – just three minutes after coming on as a replacement – but it wasn't enough as eventual championsBlue Bulls U21 won the match 31–24.
Despite being included in theFree State XV squads that played in the Vodacom Cup in 2012 and 2013, Kruger didn't feature in any of those competitions and it wasn't until 2015 – after featuring in four matches for theUFS Shimlas in a 2015 Varsity Cup season that saw them crowned champions for the first time after beating theNWU Pukke 63–33 in the final – that Kruger made his first class debut; he was named in theFree State Cheetahs squad for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division and played off the bench in their 31–73 defeat to theGolden Lions. A week later, he was named in the starting line-up for the first time for their match against thePumas in Nelspruit and Kruger also scored his first senior try, scoring ten minutes into the second half in a 37-all draw.
Personal life
He is the older brother of centre Tertius Kruger. The both played for the Free State Cheetahs in the 2015 Currie Cup; Tertius made his first class debut one week before De Wet and the two brothers featured in a match together when De Wet made his debut in their defeat to theGolden Lions.