Johan de Bruyn
Full names: Johan
Date of birth: 12 Oct 1948
Place of birth: Reivilo
Schools: Wolmaransstad Reivilo
Springbok no: 475
Springbok debut province: Orange Free State
Physical: 1.93m, 114.0kg
Current age: 77
Test summary: Tests: 1 Tries: 0
Only test: 13 Jul 1974 Age 25 - Lock against Britain at Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
Tours France 1974
Test history:
DateAgePositionOpponentVenueResultScoreProvince
13 Jul 1974 25Lock Britain Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth Lose: 9-26  OFS

Johan de Bruyn was born on a farm near Reivilo in what is today North West Province, where his lifelong toughness and sense of humor were forged early. As a boy he lost an eye when struck by a hard quince thrown by a classmate, an accident that never stopped him from excelling in rugby. After schooling at Wolmaransstad Tegnies, he began his working life as an apprentice with the Free State Provincial Administration and soon joined the Schoemanspark rugby club in Bloemfontein before moving to the Police club, from where his provincial career took shape.

De Bruyn made his debut for Free State in 1970 and went on to play 40 matches for the province, becoming one of the union’s most dependable forwards. A rugged lock with an appetite for physical confrontation, he was part of the formidable Free State pack that battled the 1974 British & Irish Lions in Bloemfontein, narrowly losing a brutal encounter 9 - 11. His uncompromising play and leadership earned him national selection for the third Test of the same series at Boet Erasmus Stadium in Port Elizabeth - his only appearance in the green and gold.

That Test became part of rugby folklore when De Bruyn and Lions lock Gordon Brown exchanged punches, and his glass eye famously fell out during the fray. Both teams and the referee dropped to their knees in a frantic search through the mud until the “missing eye” was found, returned to De Bruyn, and promptly pushed back into place so the match could continue. Years later, when Brown fell ill with leukemia, De Bruyn crafted an olive-wood block mounted with a spare glass eye inscribed “From Johan to Gordon,” a gesture that symbolized the enduring camaraderie between old opponents.

After his brief Springbok career, De Bruyn continued to farm Simbras on Palmietfontein near his birthplace and remained active in the game’s community. A man of immense character and dry wit, he became a beloved figure in South African rugby folklore - remembered as much for his courage and humor as for his contribution to the Free State and the Springboks.