Heinrich Brussow

Heinrich Brussow, born and bred in the City of Roses, started his short but impressive rugby career in Bloemfontein when he represented the Free State at the U18 Craven Week.

At the age of 33, Heinrich Brussow was forced into immediate retirement due to constant injuries. He ended his career at Northampton Saints in 2019, after only being at the club for one year.

Heinrich Brussow represented the Bloemfontein outfit both on Currie Cup and Super Rugby level for 11 years, which had earned him over 200 caps in the orange and white jersey. This backrower scored 39 tries in the time he was with the Cheetahs. In 2007 Heinrich Brussow helped his team to victory in the Currie Cup final, when the Cheetahs played the Golden Lions. He scored the game winning try, and they won the match 20-18. The next year, Heinrich Brussow was voted as the Best Openside Flanker in the Super 14 and Currie Cup competition.

In 2013, Heinrich Brussow would start at NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in Osaka, Japan, where he would be based until 2018. In 2014, he was also called up to the Barbarians side.

For an openside flanker, Heinrich Brussow was not a big player, but was one of the most dynamic fetchers South African rugby has ever seen. Many rugby pundits state that he was one of the most underrated players to ever wear the Green and Gold jersey. Because Heinrich Brussow came in under 100kgs, he was a lot more agile than the bruising loose forwards the coaches were on the look out for at the time. All the same, Heinrich Brussow made his test match debut for the Springboks in 2008 against England at Twickenham Stadium.

2009 was a big year for Heinrich Brussow. He received a call up during the British and Irish Lions series during the first match, after Schalk Burger had to leave the field due to an injury. During the 2009 Tri-Nation series, he would go on to start in five matches against the All Blacks, all of which he would be undefeated in. This is also the year Heinrich Brussow won the SA Rugby Young Player of the Year award.

During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Heinrich Brussow represented South Africa in every match, but by the time he retired, Heinrich Brussow had worn the Green and Gold jersey only 23 times.

Heinrich Brussow is married to a South African singer, Caroline Grace Brussow, who was a contestant on the second season of The Voice SA. Although they live a very private life, she has shared snippets of their life on her Instagram, and Rugby365 knows that they have a son named Marcel Werner.