Petrus Willem van der Walt, commonly known as Wimpie van der Walt, is a South African-born Japanese rugby union player who represents Japan at the international level. He currently plays for the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in Japan's Top League. Van der Walt's primary positions are lock or flanker.
Van der Walt began his rugby career representing the Pumas at the 2006 and 2007 Craven Week tournaments during his time at Hoerskool Nelspruit. He then joined Western Province and played at the Under-19 and Under-21 levels between 2008 and 2010. Although he was included in the Maties squad for the 2010 Varsity Cup, he did not make any appearances for them.
He made his debut for Western Province's first team in a Vodacom Cup match against the Boland Cavaliers on 27 February 2010. The following year, he made his Currie Cup debut against Griquas. Van der Walt played a total of fifteen Vodacom Cup matches and two Currie Cup matches for Western Province.
In October 2011, Van der Walt joined the Italian National Championship of Excellence team San Gregorio. He played sixteen matches for them during the 2011-2012 season, but unfortunately, the team finished last in the table and was relegated to Serie A1 in the 2012-13 season.
Van der Walt returned to South Africa a few months later and joined the Eastern Province Kings for the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season. He made his debut on 30 July 2012 in the season opener against the Boland Cavaliers.
He was then named in the Southern Kings squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season. Van der Walt made his Super Rugby debut in the first match of the season against the Western Force and quickly established himself as a regular starter. Throughout the season, he scored several tries for the Kings, including one against the Crusaders, one against the Brumbies, and two against the Bulls.
After his stint with the Kings, Van der Walt signed with the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League for the 2013-14 season, scoring two tries in 13 appearances. He later returned to South Africa and joined the Bulls on a two-month contract during the 2014 Super Rugby season.
Following his Super Rugby commitments, Van der Walt returned to the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes and continued to play for them. In November 2017, he was called up to the Japanese national squad and made his test debut against Australia. He went on to make two more appearances in November.
By the start of the 2019 Super Rugby season, Van der Walt had accumulated 28 Super Rugby caps and 9 test caps for Japan. He solidified his place in Japan's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and had made 15 appearances for Japan heading into the quarter-finals of the tournament.
KG(02/07/2023)
Career
 |
Griquas Blindside Flanker |
2024 - present |
 |
Urayasu D-Rocks No 4 Lock |
2024 - present |
 |
Southern Kings Blindside Flanker |
2013 - 2016 |
 |
Bulls Openside Flanker |
2014 - 2016 |
 |
Japan No 4 Lock |
2017 - 2023 |
 |
NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka No 4 Lock |
|
 |
Sunwolves No 5 Lock |
2018 - 2024 |
