Johannes Arnoldus "Lofty" Nel (11 August 1935 – 18 July 2016) was a South African rugby union international who represented the Springboks in 11 Test matches as a flanker and number eight.[1]
| Full name | Johannes Arnoldus Nel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 August 1935 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 18 July 2016 (aged 80) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 217 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nicknamed "Lofty" on account of his 193 cm frame, Nel was born in Pretoria and educated at Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck, a school in Randfontein. He was a nephew of former Natal and Northern Transvaal captain Hennie Nel.[2]
Nel debuted for the Springboks in the 1960 Johannesburg Test against the All Blacks. Of his 11 Test matches, eight came against the All Blacks and he was the first Springbok to appear against three successive New Zealand teams (1960, 1965 and 1970).[2]
At provincial level, Nel started out at Transvaal but spent most of his career at Western Transvaal, captaining them to the 1964 SARB Board Trophy. His only son, Pieter, played for Northern Transvaal as a centre and wing from 1987 to 1992.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ex-Springbok Lofty Nel passes away". News 24. 19 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Lofty Nel dies at 80". rugby365.com. 19 July 2016.
- ^ "Lofty Nel dies at 80". Rekord East. 20 July 2016.
External links
edit- Lofty Nel at ESPNscrum