Juandre Kruger developed a reputation of being a lineout maestro and no-nonsense tight forward while at Loftus Versfeld and it was while representing the Pretoria franchise that he received his Springbok call-up, where he went on to earn 17 caps in the Green and Gold.
Having spent some time as a young player with Northampton Saints, Kruger returned to Pretoria where he took the Bulls’ No.5 jersey from the retired Victor Matfield and has hardly put a foot wrong since.
Kruger made his test debut against England in November 2012. Kruger moved to France in 2012 and joined Paris-based club Racing 92 in the Top 14. He spent 3 years at the club scoring 3 tries in his 42 appearances before Toulon offered him a deal ahead of the 2016/17 season. He opted to join to Toulon and helped the side to a semi-final spot in his first season.
In May 2017, Toulon announced that Kruger had extended his contract at the club by one season with the option of an additional year thereafter. Juandre has seen a lot of game time during the 2016/17 season, lining out 23 times in the TOP 14 & three games in the Champions Cup.
In July 2019, the Super Rugby-winning lock confirmed he will be leaving Toulon to return to the Bulls in December ahead of the 2020 season.
Kruger also represented the Blue Bulls and Western Province in the Currie Cup before heading to Europe where he represented RC Toulon, Racing Metro 92, Northampton Saints and the Scarlets. The big lock racked up a total of 91 appearances collectively for the Bulls and Blue Bulls before leaving the club in 2020.
JW NOV 2020
Career
Paul Roos Gymnasium No 5 Lock |
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Northampton Saints No 4 Lock |
2008 - 2010 | |
Barbarians No 5 Lock |
2014 - 2014 | |
South Africa No 4 Lock |
2012 - 2014 | |
World XV No 5 Lock |
2014 - 2015 | |
Blue Bulls No 4 Lock |
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Racing 92 No 4 Lock |
2013 - 2016 | |
RC Toulon No 4 Lock |
2016 - 2019 | |
Scarlets No 4 Lock |
2019 - 2019 | |
Bulls No 4 Lock |
2012 - 2020 |