Dennis Visser
Date of birth (1993-01-20) 20 January 1993
Place of birthBenoni, South Africa
Height2.00 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Weight120 kg (18 st 13 lb; 265 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Kempton Park, Kempton Park
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Pretoria
UniversityUniversity of Pretoria
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
Current team Narbonne
Youth career
2009 Falcons
2012–2014 Blue Bulls
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2015 UP Tuks 15 (0)
2016 UFS Shimlas 6 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2015 Blue Bulls 1 (0)
2016 Griffons 6 (10)
2017–2019 Free State XV 8 (0)
2017–2019 Free State Cheetahs 12 (0)
2017–2019 Cheetahs 2 (0)
2018 → Griffons 2 (0)
2019–2022 Narbonne 49 (5)
2022–2023 Zebre 2 (0)
2023– Narbonne ()
Correct as of 24 Dec 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 South Africa Under-20 5 (0)
Correct as of 22 Apr 2018

Dennis Visser (born 20 January 1993 in Benoni, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player who currently plays for the Narbonne in the Championnat Fédéral Nationale.[1] His regular position is lock.[2]

Career

Falcons and Blue Bulls Under-19 (2009–2012)

At high school level, Visser represented East Rand side Falcons at the 2009 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week. He moved to Pretoria to complete his schooling Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool and then joined the academy of the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls.

In 2012, he was a key member of the Blue Bulls U19 side that participated in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship; he played in all fourteen of their matches in the competition, starting thirteen of those. His side finished in second spot on the log after the regular season to qualify for the play-offs, and Visser helped them beat the Sharks U19s 46–35 in the semi-final,[3] but finished on the losing side in the final, as Western Province U19 became champions after a 22–18 win.[4]

South Africa Under-20, Blue Bulls Under-21 and UP-Tuks (2013–2015)

Visser was selected to represent a South African Under-20 that played at the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship held in France and attempted to retain the title they won in 2012. Visser started all three pool matches as South Africa got off to a good start, beating the United States 97–0,[5] England 31–24[6] and hosts France 26–19[7] to top their pool and to qualify to the semi-finals. He also started their semi-final match as they lost 17–18 to Wales,[8] and in their third-place play-off match as they beat New Zealand 41–34 to finish the competition in third spot.[9]

He returned to domestic action for the Blue Bulls U21 side during the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He didn't play in their first match of the season, but featured in all of their remaining thirteen matches, starting seven of those and also scoring a try in their match against Western Province U21 in a 21–32 defeat.[10] The season had a similar outcome than the 2012 season with the Under-19s; the Blue Bulls U21s finished in second spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, they won their semi-final match against the Sharks – 36–13 on this occasion[11] – before losing the final to Western Province, who won 30–23 in the match played in Durban.[12]

The following season, Visser was included in the UP Tuks squad that participated in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition. He started all seven of their matches, but could not help his side qualify for the play-offs (the first time since in four seasons they failed to do so) as they finished in sixth position on the log. He made ten appearances for the Blue Bulls U21s in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, starting six of those as the Blue Bulls preferred Irné Herbst and Marvin Orie as their starting locks for the competition. Visser scored a try in their 143–0 demolition of Border U21[13] as the Blue Bulls finished in second spot on the log, but he didn't appear in the play-offs, as the Blue Bulls eventually won the competition, beating Western Province U21 20–10 in the final.[14]

Visser again featured in all of UP Tuks' matches in the 2015 Varsity Cup competition. They improved on their 2014 showing and topped the log after the regular season to qualify for the semi-finals. Visser featured in their semi-final match against NWU Pukke, but could not help them reach the final, with the side from Potchefstroom winning 29–28 to progress instead.[15] Visser also made his domestic first class debut just over a month later, as he appeared as a second-half replacement in the Blue Bulls' 2015 Vodacom Cup match against the Limpopo Blue Bulls. He ended on the winning side as the Blue Bulls won 83–13 against their affiliated sub-union.[16] That was his last action of 2015, as an ankle injury ruled him out for the remainder of the year.[17]

Cheetahs and UFS Shimlas (2016–2019)

Visser was named in the training squad of Bloemfontein-based Super Rugby franchise the Cheetahs for the 2016 Super Rugby season.[18] In January 2016, he was released from the training squad to join Varsity Cup side UFS Shimlas.[19] With Cheetahs he played also in Pro14 and with Free State Cheetahs in Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge.

Europe (2019–present)

From 2019 to 2022 he played with Narbonne. In 2022–23 United Rugby Championship season, Visser signed for Italian team Zebre.[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Dennis Visser". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Dennis Visser". Zebre Parma (in Italian).
  3. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 46–35 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 22–18 Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97–0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31–24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19–26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41–34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 21–32 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 36–13 The Sharks U21". South African Rugby Union. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30–23 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U21 143–0 Border U21". South African Rugby Union. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U21 10–20 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UP - TUKS 28–29 FNB NWU-PUKKE". South African Rugby Union. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 83–13 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Vodacom Blue Bulls Fitness Report - presented by Medihelp". Blue Bulls. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "Toyota Cheetah Super Rugby Pre-season squad announced" (Press release). Cheetahs. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Carl Wegner oorgehaal ná fratsbesering". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "L'EX SECONDA LINEA DEGLI SPRINGBOKS U20 DENNIS VISSER AGGIUNGE QUALITÀ ED ESPERIENZA ALLA ROSA DELLE ZEBRE RUGBY". Zebre Rugby Club (in Italian). 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "TREDICI ATLETI E UN COMPONENTE DELLO STAFF TECNICO DELLE ZEBRE SALUTANO IL CLUB". Zebre Parma. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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