CJ Stander

Christiaan Johan Stander (born 5 April 1990) is a South African-born Irish former rugby union player.

He helped them to a 26–21 victory over hosts the in their first match, before scoring two tries in a 30–13 victory over the in their second match and one try in a 31–25 victory against the Free State in the main match of the tournament, as SWD was crowned the unofficial champions for the first time since 2001.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Stander was named in the South Africa Schools squad, but ended on the wrong side of a shock result as the secondary Schools Academy side beat them 41–19 in a match played in Durban.

In 2006, he played for them at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Wellington, Western Cape.

He started all three of their matches at the tournament, helping them to two victories and a draw.

Despite still being in the Under-17 age group in 2006, Stander was named captain of the SWD team for the premier high schools rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week, held in Stellenbosch.

He led from the front, scoring two tries against the, one try against KwaZulu-Natal and a hat-trick in their final match against the to finish as the tournament's top try scorer.

His performances caught the attention of the national team selectors, and Stander was named in and appointed captain of the South Africa Schools Academy side, playing the full 80 minutes in a 15–50 defeat to the more senior South Africa Schools side.

Stander was again named captain of SWD for the 2008 Craven Week, which was held at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria.

After high school, Stander moved to Pretoria to join the academy of Currie Cup side the for the 2009 season onwards.

Stander started his fifth match of the competition in his side's 27–22 victory over England in the third-place play-off to emulate their 2009 finish.

Stander returned to domestic rugby for the Blue Bulls by featuring in a compulsory friendly match against the.

Stander's career began in his native South Africa, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup between 2010 and 2012 and for the Bulls in Super Rugby in 2012.

Before he experienced any game-time in a Blue Bulls jersey, however, he was named in the South Africa Under-20 team to compete at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Japan.

He started all of their matches in the number eight jersey; he scored his country's first try of the tournament in a 36–10 victory against Fiji in the opening match, before helping them two further victories in Pool C, beating Italy 65–3 and France 43–27.

Despite scoring his second try of the tournament in their semi-final match against England, he could not help them reach the final, losing the match 21–40.

The team eventually finished third in the tournament, winning their final match of the tournament 32–5 against fellow beaten semi-finalists Australia.

He initially found himself fast-tracked into their Under-21 team, starting their first four matches in the Under-21 Provincial Championship, before then reverting to the Under-19 team.

He scored two tries against in his first match at that level, as he helped the team qualify for the semi-finals by winning all six of their matches to top the log.

Despite making two further appearances for the Under-21s and scoring a try for them against the Leopards, he represented the Under-19s in the play-offs, but the team failed to get past their trans-Jukskei rivals the at the semi-final stage.

At the start of 2010, Stander was included in the squad for the 2010 Vodacom Cup, and – after being an unused replacement in the team's 27–22 victory over the – made his debut in their 50–7 victory over the in Kempton Park in Round Five of the competition, coming on in the 63rd minute of the match.

However, that turned out to be his only involvement in the competition, as he once again linked up with the South Africa Under-20 team, being named as captain for the team due to compete in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship.

For the second Junior World Championship in a row, Stander scored a try in South Africa's opening match, as they secured 40–14 win over Tonga in their first match.

He captained them to a 73–0 victory over Scotland, before being involved in South Africa's first ever defeat in a pool match at the Junior World Championships, as they lost 35–42 to Australia.

Despite the result, South Africa qualified for the semi-finals as the best pool runner-up, but lost again at that stage against eventual champions New Zealand.

He was catapulted into their senior squad for the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division and made his Currie Cup debut on 9 July 2010 – aged 20 years, 100 days – coming on as a replacement in their 38–15 victory over the.

He made appearances off the bench in their next six matches before making his first Currie Cup start in a 39–38 victory over in their Round Seven match.

He made a further four starts and two appearances as a replacement, but with players like Danie Rossouw returning from international duty, dropped back into the team.

He made one start for them during the Under-21 Provincial Championship regular season, scoring a try in their 41–36 victory over.

The team finished second on the log to qualify for the semi-finals, and Stander started both their 39–35 victory over the s in the semi-final and the final, which Stander's team lost 32–43 to.

After his single appearance in the Vodacom Cup in 2010, Stander saw more action in that competition in 2011.

He took part in all of the Blue Bulls' eleven matches in the competition, making six starts and coming on as a replacement in the other five.

He started off the season by scoring a try in their opening match against a, but failed to get on the scoreboard again for the remainder of the regular season, as the Blue Bulls won just three of their eight matches, but still finished in fourth place in the Northern Section to secure the final quarter final place.

He moved to Irish province Munster in 2012 and, after qualifying via residency in 2015, made his debut for Ireland in 2016, going on to earn 51 caps for his adopted country, as well as 1 cap for the British & Irish Lions in 2017, before retiring in 2021.

Stander was born in George, South Africa, where his family own a farm.

Prior to focusing on rugby, Stander was a champion discus thrower as a teenager.

Stander's native language growing up was Afrikaans.

Stander went to Blanco Primary School, where he began playing rugby at the age of nine, playing as a fly-half.

He then went to Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale (Oakdale Agricultural High School), where he shifted into the number eight position at the age of 14.

He earned provincial colours for three consecutive years, representing the at youth tournaments.