Tom van Vollenhoven

Tom van Vollenhoven (born 29 April 1935) is a South African former rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1950s, and 1960s. He enjoyed a prolific rugby league career with English club St. Helens after switching codes from rugby union in the 1950s. Vollenhoven became a rugby league sensation with the club in a career spanning ten seasons from the 1957 to the 1967–68 season. During this time he amassed a club record 392 tries in 408 appearances. This includes a record 62 in the 1958–59 Northern Rugby Football League season. In 2000, he was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.

Vollenhoven was born 29 April 1935 in Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa.

He played rugby union for Northern Transvaal, and scored a hat-trick for the Springboks against the British Lions, and then toured Australasia the following year with the national team before going to England to play professionally in 1957. Tom van Vollenhoven had been scouted by the 13-a-side code in 1955 in a 'cloak and dagger' style operation which saw English club St. Helens vie off the competition of Wigan for his services, and the attention of the South African RFU.

Vollenhoven was brought into a Saints side to add a scoring threat out wide, in a side that at the time, was more noted for its forward prowess. His rugby league début was against Leeds at Knowsley Road, and his first experience of the code was a negative one as he was responsible for a blunder which gifted the Yorkshire side a try. However such disappointment was short lived as Vollenhoven produced a harbinger with a well taken try later in the same match much to the excitement of the Knowsley Road faithful. His centre, Duggie Greenall was given strict orders to nurse and protect Vollenhoven whilst he found his way in his new game. Greenall was noted as something of a hardman, notably involved in a scandal with the Australians who claimed Greenall's ruthless tackling had more to do with him using a plaster cast as to his tackling itself. Regardless, Greenall proved to be a fine centre for Vollenhoven in his early days, ensuring that the wingman received little risky ball and that adequate defensive cover was provided when necessary.