Jacques ‘Vleis’ Engelbrecht has signed with the Southern Kings for the 2016 Vodacom Super rugby season.
Chief Operating Officer, Charl Crous, said the Southern Kings were excited to have Engelbrecht back for the 2016 season.
“Jacques made a significant impact in our debut 2013 campaign and we are looking forward to the positive contributions he will bring to the team as we return to the Super Rugby stage,” said Crous.
Engelbrecht, now 30, was born in Bellville and started his career at Western Province, where he made an early impression.
In 2008, after being involved in the Western Province Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup squads, he moved to the SWD Eagles, where he played for two- and-a-half years before joining the Eastern Province Kings in 2011.
In 2010, following an impressive Currie Cup campaign with SWD, Engelbrecht was called up into the Springbok Sevens training squad and featured for Paul Treu’s men in the home leg of the World Series in December of that year.
He made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut in the Southern Kings' first ever match in the competition against the Western Force, coming on as a first half replacement for skipper Luke Watson who suffered a throat injury.
Engelbrecht’s direct battering-ram style drives at the heart of the Force defence and powerful ball-carrying surges ensured that the Kings were given plenty of front-foot momentum against the street-wise Australians. He played a crucial role in securing the Kings debut Vodacom Super Rugby victory, taking the game 22–10.
Engelbrecht made his first Vodacom Super Rugby start two weeks later when the Kings hosted the Sharks, and scored his first try in Super Rugby the following week, in a 24–35 defeat to the Chiefs in Hamilton.
He made fifteen appearances for the Southern Kings in 2013, ten starts and five appearances off the bench, during the competition.
