Lappies Labuschagné

Pieter Hermias Cornelius Labuschagné (ピーター ラブスカフニ, Pītā Rabusukafuni, born 11 January 1989) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Japan Rugby League One club Kubota Spears. Born in South Africa, he represents Japan at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.

Lappies Labuschagné

Labuschagné representing Kubota Spears during the Top League
Full name	Pieter Hermias Cornelius Labuschagné
Date of birth	(1989-01-11) 11 January 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	107 kg (236 lb; 16 st 12 lb)
School	Grey College, Bloemfontein
University	University of the Free State
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Current team Kubota Spears Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2009–2012 UFS Shimlas 15 (5) 2011–2014 Free State Cheetahs 44 (55) 2011 Emerging Cheetahs 1 (0) 2012 Free State XV 2 (0) 2012–2014 Cheetahs 27 (10) 2015–2016 Bulls 23 (25) 2015–2016 Blue Bulls 11 (10) 2016– Kubota Spears 70 (50) 2018 Sunwolves 7 (5) Correct as of 28 August 2023 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2019– Japan 19 (5) Correct as of 28 August 2023

Club career

Labuschagné represented the Bulls in Super Rugby and previously played with the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup.^[1] He has also previously captained the UFS Shimlas in the Varsity Cup.^[2]

Labuschagné moved to the Japanese Top League prior to the 2016–17 season, signing with the Kubota Spears.^[3]

International career

Labuschagné was called up to the South Africa squad for the 2013 mid-year rugby union tests against Italy, Scotland and Samoa, but he did not feature in any of the matches for Springboks.^[4]

In 2019, he debuted for Japan. He represented Japan at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and captained them in their Pool A victory over Ireland.