Willem Ferdinand van Rheede van Oudtschoorn Bergh (2 November 1906 – 28 May 1973), better known as "Ferdie" Bergh, was a South African rugby union player.Cotton, p74Scrum.com player profile, retrieved 20 February 2010
Biography He was originally from Stellenbosch, well known as a Springbok rugby breeding ground. He studied at Stellenbosch University, after which he went to Potchefstroom. He played his first provincial rugby for the and after that he played for four more provinces.
Ferdie Bergh gained 17 caps for between 1931 and 1938, scoring seven tries in that period.
Willem Ferdinand van Rheede van Oudtschoorn Bergh may hold the record for having the longest name in international rugby, comprising 43 letters in total, including seven words and five names ("Van Rheede" and "Van Oudtschoorn" counting as single names.
He is most famous for scoring the winning try in the only test rugby series ever won by South Africa in New Zealand.
Test history No. Opponents Results(SA 1st) Position Tries Dates Venue 1. 8–3 Lock 1 5 Dec 1931 St. Helen's, Swansea 2. 8–3 Lock 19 Dec 1931 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 3. 7–0 Lock 1 2 Jan 1932 Twickenham, London 4. 6–3 Lock 16 Jan 1932 Murrayfield, Edinburgh 5. 17–3 Number 8 2 8 Jul 1933 Newlands, Cape Town 6. 6–21 Number 8 22 Jul 1933 Kingsmead, Durban 7. 12–3 Lock 12 Aug 1933 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 8. 11–0 Lock 26 Aug 1933Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth 9. 4–15 Lock 2 Sep 1933 Springbok Park, Bloemfontein 10. 9–5 Lock 1 26 Jun 1937 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 11. 26–17 Lock 1 17 Jul 1937 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 12. 7–13 Lock 14 Aug 1937 Athletic Park, Wellington13. 13–6 Number 8 4 Sep 1937 Lancaster Park, Christchurch 14. 17–6 Number 8 1 25 Sep 1937 Eden Park, Auckland 15. British Isles26–12 Lock 6 Aug 1938 Ellis Park, Johannesburg 16. British Isles19–3 Lock 3 Sep 1938 Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth 17. British Isles 16–21 Lock 10 Sep 1938 Newlands, Cape Town
See also List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 228
Bibliography Cotton, Fran (Ed.) (1984) The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records. (Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing. )
References
External links