Danie Gerber
| Birth name | Daniël Mattheus Gerber | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 April 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Port Elizabeth, Cape Province Union of South Africa (now Eastern Cape) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 91 kg (201 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daniël Mattheus Gerber (born 14 April 1958) is a South African former rugby union player who played for South Africa between 1980 and 1992. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby players ever and considered by many as the greatest center of all time, he played mainly at inside or outside centre, but also on the wing.
In an era with fewer games and limited exposure due to apartheid-era isolation, Gerber still etched his name into rugby folklore by scoring 19 test tries in 24 appearances for South Africa. His try-scoring ratio per game for South Africa is the highest ever (79.16 %). In 1984 he scored a hat-trick of tries against England and in 1992 he scored 2 famous tries against New Zealand. In 1981 he scored a brilliant individual try against Ireland; his incredible agility and footwork caused 2 Irish players to tackle each other. In total, Gerber scored an incredible 158 tries in first-class rugby. Despite only playing 24 test matches for South Africa, his impact on the game and talent was considered and still today, way ahead of his time. ) He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.