DHL Stormers legend: Juan de Jongh

A DHL Stormers centurion and true warrior of the Cape, Juan de Jongh was the local hero who stepped his way to the top.

Hailing from Wellington, De Jongh made his childhood dream of playing for the DHL Stormers a reality, having impressed for Maties in the inaugural Varsity Cup in 2008.

Able to play at both inside and outside centre, De Jongh was known for his devastating stepping and hard-hitting tackling, which made him a tough customer at every level of the game.

In a remarkable domestic career that saw him score 25 tries in 83 appearances for DHL Western Province to go along with Currie Cup titles in 2012 and 2014, De Jongh was an instant hit from the moment he made his provincial debut in 2009.

He quickly became a crowd favourite at Newlands after scoring five tries in 16 appearances in his debut domestic season and was called up to make his DHL Stormers debut in 2010, where he scored a sensational try in the Super Rugby semifinal against the Waratahs.

De Jongh was a DHL Stormers regular by the time the next Super Rugby season came around, and six years later the centre had racked up 97 caps before making a move to English club Wasps in 2017.

He lifted the Currie Cup as captain at a packed Newlands in 2014 and would go on to co-captain the DHL Stormers in the 2016 Super Rugby season as they finished the regular season in third place on the overall standings.

While still in his first stint with the DHL Stormers, De Jongh made his first appearance for the Springboks and scored a cracker of a try in a 2010 mid-year Test against Wales.

He added two more tries to his tally before making his 19th and final appearance for South Africa in 2016.

De Jongh also plied his trade for the Springbok Sevens during this time, initially debuting in 2008 before representing them between 2015 and 2017. The crowning moment came at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where South Africa won bronze.

Four years after moving to Wasps, De Jongh made his way back to the DHL Stormers for a second stint, winning five more caps to finish as a centurion with 15 tries to his name before closing the curtain on a stellar career in 2023.

Juan de Jongh’s numbers:

102 – The number of matches he played for the DHL Stormers from 2010 to 2023

15 – The number of tries he scored for the DHL Stormers