Spies
Pierre Spies was a modern great of South African rugby. Discover more about his life and career with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
Pierre Spies Bio
A giant for the Bulls, Blue Bulls and the Springboks, Pierre Spies is a true great of the modern game. Although injuries hampered stages of his career, his pace and strength always made him a formidable opponent. He was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Born 8 June 1985, Pierre Spies attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool School in Pretoria alongside future Springboks teammates Fourie du Preez and Wynand Olivier.
Pierre Spies made his first class debut for the Blue Bulls in 2005. When he made his Super Rugby debut later in the same year, he became the youngest player to ever represent the Bulls. Sadly, he then suffered from a couple of injuries that halted his progress.
However, in 2008, Pierre Spies enjoyed a breakout year. In this year, he was nominated for the 2008 Currie Cup Player of the Year and several other awards. He also won the award for South Africa's Most Promising Player of the Year and Sportsman of the Year.
Thanks to his strong performances for the Blue Bulls and the Bulls, Pierre Spies was selected for South Africa for the first time in 2006. In total, he was capped by his country 53 times between 2006 and 2013. During this time, he featured in the South Africa side that defeated the touring British and Irish Lions side in 2009.
After his South Africa career came to a close, Pierre Spies left the country and played rugby abroad. After one season with the Kintetsu Liners in 2015, he signed for Montpellier, who he represented until his retirement in 2017.
Despite his career often stalling due to injury, Pierre Spies still enjoyed a highly distinguished career at the domestic and international level. Since his retirement in 2017, he has worked as an intern pastor, motivational speaker and life coach in South Africa.
