Franswa Ueckermann

Franswa Johannes Ueckermann (born 6 January 1994 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, who most recently played with theEastern Province Kings. His regular position is scrum-half.

2012–13: Youth rugby

Attending school in Brits, Ueckermann was selected by theLeopards to play at the premier South African high schools rugby competition, the Under-18 Craven Week, in July 2012. In one of his two appearances, he scored a try against Namibia in a 36–29 win.

For the 2013 season, Ueckermann joined East Rand-based side theFalcons, who included him in their squad for the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made nine appearances in Group B of the competition, scoring nine tries, making him the top scorer in the competition. He scored braces in their matches againstGriffons U19,Griquas U19 andBoland U19 and one try in each of their matches againstSWD U19 andLimpopo Blue Bulls U19 during the regular season to help the Falcons finish top of the log with seven wins out of seven. Ueckermann helped them to a 29–24 win over SWD in the semi-finals, before scoring his ninth try of the competition in the final againstEastern Province U19; however, it was not enough to help his side win silverware, with the team from Port Elizabeth winning 56–40.

2014–: Eastern Province Kings

For the 2014 season, Ueckermann moved to Port Elizabeth to join the Eastern Province. He made seven starts for theEastern Province U21 team in Group B of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring one try during the season in their 46–3 win overSWD U21. The team won all their matches in the regular season before seeing offLimpopo Blue Bulls in the semi-final and SWD in the final, with Ueckermann starting both those matches to help them secure the title. He also started their promotion play-off match a week later, as Eastern Province won 64–9 againstBorder U21 to secure promotion to Group A.

Ueckermann returned for their 2015 season in Group A of the competition, starting eight of their matches. He scored one try in their 25–15 victory overSharks U21 before ending the season on a high, scoring two tries in their final match, a 31–45 defeat toWestern Province U21. It was a disappointing season for the team, however, as they won just a single match in their first season at their new level, finishing bottom of the log.

He was amongst a large contingent of youngsters that were included in theEastern Province Kings squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He was named in starting line-up for their second match of the season against theBoland Cavaliers and made his first class debut in an 18–37 defeat in Wellington. In his sixth start for the EP Kings – against theSharks XV in Round Nine of the competition – Ueckermann got his first senior try, scoring ten minutes before the end of a 26–34 defeat.