Ryk van Schoor
| Full name | Ryk Arnoldus Mauritius van Schoor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 December 1921 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Philadelphia, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 22 March 2009 (aged 87) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Parow, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (12 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Paarl Boy's High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Tobacco farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Centre | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1942–1948 1949–1952 1953–? |
Western Province Rhodesia Western Province |
() | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1949–1953 | South Africa | 12 | (6) |
Ryk Arnoldus Mauritius van Schoor (3 December 1921 – 22 March 2009) was a South African rugby union centre, a crash ball specialist he was known for his hard tackling. Van Schoor played club rugby for Inyazura RFC and provincial rugby for both Western Province and Rhodesia. He was capped for South Africa twelve times between 1949 and 1953 first representing the team against the 1949 touring New Zealand side. He was later selected for the 1951–52 South Africa rugby tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France. The touring team is seen as one of the greatest South African teams, winning 30 of the 31 matches, including all five internationals.
Van Schoor was born in Philadelphia, Cape in 1921 to Dirk and Catharina van Schoor. He was educated at the primary school in Klipheuvel then at Paarl Boys High where he played hockey for Boland. After leaving school he took a post as a clerk in Cape Town, but left his employment in 1948 when he moved to Rhodesia to seek his fortune as a tobacco farmer. He married Leonie Krüger, who was the daughter of former international South Africa hooker Theuns Krüger. They had three children, but Leonie died before van Schoor and he was a widower for many years. He died at a nursing home in Parow in 2009 following an illness.
Van Schoor first played rugby at the age of seven, but when he entered Paarl Boy's School he was considered to small to play. As an adult he was 5-foot 9 inches in height, but was broad of shoulder and developed into one of the most feared tacklers in South Africa. Van Schoor was also a crash ball specialist, a factor that is believed to have brought him to the notice of the South Africa selectors and won him his first cap. he was first selected to play rugby at provincial level in 1942 for Westen Province, during which time he was playing club rugby for Gardens. After moving to Rhodesia in 1948 he switched clubs to Inyazura, and was dropped by Western Province, turning out instead for Rhodesia.
In 1949, the New Zealand 'All Blacks' toured South Africa, the first team to do so since the Second World War. Trials to face the tourist were held, but van Schoor wasn't amongst the 120 players who turned out. The first Test was played on 16 July at Cape Town, South Africa won 15–11. The All Blacks then travelled north to Rhodesia to play the Rhodesian team in two matches. Two South African selectors, Danie Craven and Bert Kipling, watched the games which ended in a 10–-8 win for Rhodesia in the first game and a 3–3 draw in the second. Van Schoor's tackling so impressed the selectors that he, and fellow Rhodesia team-mate Salty du Rand, was chosen for the second Test at Johannesburg. The game ended in a 12–6 win for South Africa. This was the first of twelve consecutive international matches the van Schoor played in. He faced New Zealand twice more in the tour, both wins, 9–3 at Durban and 11–8 at Port Elizabeth.
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