Lambert Groenewald
FullnameLambert Smith Groenewald
Birth date1 February 1989 (age 37)
Birth placeWorcester, South Africa
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight113 kg (17 st 11 lb; 249 lb)
SchoolPaul Roos Gymnasium
PositionFlanker
Youthyears 12007
Youthyears 22008–2010
Years 12010–2011
Apps 114
Points 15
Years 22011
Apps 21
Points 20
Years 32011–2012
Clubs 3Brescia
Years 42012–2013
Clubs 4AMPO Ordizia
Years 52013
Apps 56
Points 50
Years 62014
Apps 61
Points 60
Years 72015–2017
Apps 737
Points 745
Clubupdate18 May 2018

Lambert Smith Groenewald (born 1 February 1989 in Worcester) is a South African-born Zimbabwean rugby union player who most recently played for the .[1] His regular position is flanker.

Career

Youth

At youth level, he captained his high school team at Paul Roos Gymnasium and represented at the 2007 Under-18 Academy Week and Craven Week tournaments before moving to the . He represented them at Under-19 and Under-21 level between 2008 and 2010.

Sharks

He made his first class debut for the in the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition. He started the opening match of the season against the and scored a try after 29 minutes to help the Sharks XV to a 69–8 victory.[2] A further five appearances followed in the 2010 Vodacom Cup, as well as eight appearances in the 2011 competition.

He did not play any Currie Cup rugby, but he did make one Super Rugby appearance for the when he came on as a late substitute for Ryan Kankowski in their match against the .[3]

Brescia and Ordizia

He left the in 2011 to join Rugby Brescia in the Italian Serie A. He spent one season in Brescia and then joined Basque side AMPO Ordizia for the 2012–13 División de Honor de Rugby.

Golden Lions

He returned to South Africa in 2013, joining the in time for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.[4][5]

Pumas

After making just seven appearances in two years for the Golden Lions, he agreed to join Mbombela-based side the on loan for the 2015 season.[6] He was a member of the Pumas side that won the Vodacom Cup for the first time in 2015, beating 24–7 in the final.[7] Groenewald made eight appearances during the season, scoring two tries.

In July 2015, the Pumas announced that they signed Groenewald on a permanent basis for the 2016 season.[8]

Zimbabwe

In May 2014, the ZRU confirmed that Groenewald would be available to play for the Zimbabwe during the 2014 Africa Cup, a competition that doubled up as the African qualifying competition for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[9]

References

  1. ^
  2. ^
  3. ^
  4. ^ "Lions team to face Sharks". Sport24. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Lions lean on former Sharks". Rugby365. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Pumas leen flank by Leeus" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  7. ^
  8. ^ "Steval Pumas announce new contracts". Rugby15. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Sables invite top players". Zimbabwe Independent. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.