Jacques van Staden
Jacques van Staden (born in Carletonville) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with Stor-Age False Bay and . His regular position is Centre. Jacques attended Noordvaal Primary School in Orkney, South Africa. He attended 4 Secondary Schools from 2007 to 2011, they were (Schoonspruit Hoërskool, Klerksdorp), (Jeugland Hoërskool), (KHS, Klerksdorp) and (Hoërskool Menlopark).
Career
Youth and Club Rugby
Van Staden represented the at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament in 2006, the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2009, and at the Under-18 Craven Week tournament in 2010 before joining the Academy in 2012. He played for the side in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship. Van Staden made his debut against the SWD Eagles scoring a try within 2 minutes of coming on as a replacement for current Currie Cup debutant, Burger Odendaal. In 2013, Van Staden moved back to his hometown of Orkney, South Africa, as he was not given a contract with the for the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship season. During this year, he played a few matches for Vaal Reefs Rugby Club, and also had a few practice sessions with the North-West University. Van Staden went to Durban to play for Varsity College, and ended up with an ankle injury, which sidelined him for the rest of the year.
In 2014, he moved to Cape Town after receiving a full bursary from the newly established Western Province Rugby Academy. He has since been representing the Stor-Age False Bay 1st XV, in the Super League A competition competing against Maties, UCT and Hamiltons, just to name a few. Because of his good performances with the club, he took part in trials for the side, and ultimately made the final training squad. He was also part of the Emerging Western Province training squad. It has been a year of good achievements for Van Staden, as he was also named the Western Province Rugby Academy player of the year for 2014. He is looking to build on the experiences of 2014, ultimately working towards an opportunity to play professional rugby. He made his debut for the side in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship against the side at Newlands on the 11th of October 2014.
Personal
Van Staden was also a good athlete at school, competing in hurdles and the 100m sprint. His personal best time over 100m's is 10.70 seconds. He also holds the South African record for the 300m Hurdles for Boys Under-15. This record has been standing since 2008.