Gio Aplon Biography

A player no backline (or forward for that matter) would want to take on head to head, Gio Aplon is a speedster, trickster, and one of the original hot steppers.

The rugby veteran was born on 6 October 1982, and enjoyed a variety of different sports growing up. It was only during his studies while playing for Maties that he seriously considered playing rugby professionally.

He started his professional career at Western Province, playing in the Currie Cup for a few years before joining the Stormers in Super Rugby.

Gio Aplon made his Currie Cup debut in 2005. He stayed at the Western Province franchise for nine years, bagging the Currie Cup trophy in 2012 and making it to the Finals on two other occasions.

In 2006, he won the Sevens World Series with South Africa, and cemented his name as a speedster of note.

The hot stepper got his call to don the green and gold in 2010 against Wales. The Springboks won the game 34 - 31. In his second test, Gio Aplon ran over the try line twice to take a convincing win against a French outfit.

The former Western Province man enjoyed jovial comradery at the Cape Town franchise, and was often engaged in pranks and silly humour. His light-heartedness helped create a good team spirit as recalled by his Springbok and Stormers friend, Juan de Jongh.

When the time came for the 2011 Springbok Rugby World Cup squad to be announced, the wing was among those called. The Springboks would fall prey to Australia in the quarterfinals, cutting their campaign surprisingly short.

At the end of the 2014 Super Rugby season, Gio Aplon would make a move to Grenoble in France, staying there for three years before moving to Toyota Verblitz for three years.

All the while consistently delivering the performances and fancy footwork for which he was known. The Springbok wing thought he might call his rugby career to a close after 15 years of leaving people in his dust, but got the call to join the Bulls in 2020.

It is a privilege to have enjoyed 15 years of such a colourful rugby career. Where many would offload and go into something else, Gio Aplon took the next step and is headed for one more try. An act reminiscent of the favourite wing.