Christian Stewart
Birth nameJan Christian Stewart
Date of birth (1965-10-17) 17 October 1965
Place of birthToronto, Ontario, Canada
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight93.5 kg (14 st 10 lb)
SchoolDiocesan College/ Woodridge College
UniversityStellenbosch University
ChildrenNieka Sophia Stewart, Tye Christian Stewart, Justin Stewart
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre, Fullback, Flyhalf
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1987–1988 Maties ()
1989– Villagers ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Rovigo ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1987–1998 Western Province 136 ()
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998 Stormers 9 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1991–1995 Canada 14 (10)
1998 South Africa 3 (0)

Jan Christian Stewart (born October 17, 1965)[1] is a former rugby union centre, who played internationally for Canada and the South Africa Springboks. Stewart earned 17 caps, 14 with Canada and three with South Africa.

Career

Stewart matriculated at Woodridge College in the Eastern Cape and in 1987 he enrolled at the University of Stellenbosch. He made his senior provincial debut for Western Province in 1987 as a fullback and in 1988 he was selected at centre for Western Province, forming a very successful partnership with Faffa Knoetze. In 1989 he joined Villagers, within the Western Province club system.[2] At the end of his career with Western Province in 1998, he played 136 games for the province and scored 31 tries.[3]

Having dual nationality, Stewart represented Canada in two rugby world cups in 1991 and in 1995 when he was not eligible for selection for the Springboks of South Africa. He played four world cup matches in 1991 and three in 1995.[4]

In 1998 when Christian was finally available to represent the Springboks of South Africa he was selected and played 3 test matches.[5] Unfortunately, in his 3rd and final test (the now famous test where South Africa needed to beat England at Twickenham to break the New Zealand All Blacks world record of 17 consecutive wins), he suffered a serious neck injury which ended his rugby playing career at the age of 33. After the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Christian Stewart was named in the all time Dream Team chosen by the rugby press.[2]

Stewart also played for the Stormers in South Africa, Rovigo in Italy and rugby league for the Sydney Bulldogs in Australia.

Test history

 Canada
No.OppositionResult
(Can 1st)		PositionTriesDateVenue
1. Scotland XV24–19Centre25 May 1991Saint John
2. United States34–15Centre8 Jun 1991Calgary
3. Fiji13–3Centre5 Oct 1991Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
4. Romania19–11Centre9 Oct 1991Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse
5. France13–19Centre13 Oct 1991Stade Armandie, Agen
6. New Zealand13–29Centre20 Oct 1991Stadium Lille Métropole, Villeneuve-d'Ascq
7. England19–60Centre10 Dec 1994Twickenham, Edinburgh
8. France9–28Centre17 Dec 1994Stade Léo Lagrange, Besançon
9. Scotland6–22Centre21 Jan 1995Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10. Fiji22–10Centre18 Apr 1995Prince Charles Park, Nadi
11. New Zealand7–73Replacement122 Apr 1995Eden Park, Auckland
12. Romania34–3Centre26 May 1995Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
13. Australia11–27Centre31 May 1995Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
14. South Africa0–20Centre3 Jun 1995Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
 South Africa
No.OppositionResult
(SA 1st)		PositionTriesDateVenue
1. Scotland35–10Centre21 Nov 1998Murrayfield, Edinburgh
2. Ireland27–13Centre28 Nov 1998Lansdowne Road, Dublin
3. England7–13Centre5 Dec 1998Twickenham, London

Accolades

In 1988, Stewart was one of the five SA Young Players of the Year, along with Kobus Burger, Jacques du Plessis, Andre Joubert and JJ van der Walt.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Christian Stewart player profile Scrum.com
  2. 1 2 Van der Merwe, Floris (2007). Matieland is rugbyland, 1980-2006. Stellenbosch: SUN Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 9781920109790. OCLC 190836768.
  3. ↑ Colquhoun, Andy (1999). The South African Rugby Annual 1999. Cape Town: MWP Media Sport. p. 335. ISBN 0958423148.
  4. ↑ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Christian Stewart - Test matches". ESPN scrum. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Colquhoun, Andy (1999). The South African Rugby Annual 1999. Cape Town: MWP Media Sport. pp. 102–106. ISBN 0958423148.
  6. ↑ Van Rooyen, Quintus (1989). S.A. Rugby Writers Annual 1989. SA Rugby Writers' Society. p. 11. ISBN 0620132469.


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