Lofty Nel

Johannes Arnoldus "Lofty" Nel (11 August 1935 – 18 July 2016) was a South African rugby union international who represented the Springboks in 11 Test matches as a flanker and number eight.^[1]

Lofty Nel

Full name	Johannes Arnoldus Nel
Date of birth	(1935-08-11)11 August 1935
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Date of death	18 July 2016(2016-07-18) (aged 80)
Place of death	Pretoria, South Africa
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	217 lb (98 kg)
School	Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
Rugby union career
Position(s) Loose forward Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) Transvaal Western Transvaal South Eastern Transvaal () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1960–70 South Africa 11 (0)

Nicknamed "Lofty" on account of his 193 cm frame, Nel was born in Pretoria and educated at Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck, a school in Randfontein. He was a nephew of former Natal and Northern Transvaal captain Hennie Nel.^[2]

Nel debuted for the Springboks in the 1960 Johannesburg Test against the All Blacks. Of his 11 Test matches, eight came against the All Blacks and he was the first Springbok to appear against three successive New Zealand teams (1960, 1965 and 1970).^[2]

At provincial level, Nel started out at Transvaal but spent most of his career at Western Transvaal, captaining them to the 1964 SARB Board Trophy. His only son, Pieter, played for Northern Transvaal as a centre and wing from 1987 to 1992.^[3]

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players