WINDHOEK – Namibia’s versatile hooker Torsten Van Jaarsveld has extended his contract with French Pro D2 second tier league club Bayonne, with his newly extended contract keeping him at the Basque club until 2022.
The 32-year old Namibian bulky hooker, who represented the country at this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, was upon his return from the global rugby showpiece presented with a fresh two-year contract that will bond his long-term future to the club. His contract ended in June and the new contract comes at an appropriate time for the Namibian.
The club also announced the extension of van Jaarsveld’s contract on its various social media platforms, saying: “Aviron Bayonnais is pleased to announce the extension of two more seasons to hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld’s contract.”
Van Jaarsveld joined French Pro D2 side Bayonne prior to the 2018–19 season, and went on to win the French Pro D2 title after a full season. He has made 23 starts from a total of 28 matches, scoring six tries in the process for the mega Frenc side.
His first class debut came after he joined South African side Pumas for the 2008 Currie Cup First Division. He played off the bench in their 32–24 victory over the Mighty Elephants at the Adcock Stadium in Port Elizabeth, with a second appearance coming against the Leopards in Potchefstroom.
He made a further three appearances off the bench during the 2009 Vodacom Cup competition before he established himself as a first-team regular during the 2009 Currie Cup First Division, playing in 11 of their matches during the competition.
He made his first start for the Pumas in their 47–12 victory over the Border Bulldogs in East London and scored his first points when he got two tries in their 95–14 victory over former side the Falcons in Kempton Park. However, he broke his leg in their semi-final match against the Mighty Elephants and missed the final and the promotion play-offs, which saw the Pumas promoted to the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division at the expense of the Boland Cavaliers. This proved to only be a minor setback to Van Jaarsveld’s career as he returned some five months later to play in the 2010 Vodacom Cup, making six appearances.
However, Van Jaarveld did pick up a personal accolade, winning the Pumas’ Most Promising Player of the Year award.
He made two appearances for the Free State XV during the 2012 Vodacom Cup competition. However, in his second match against the Boland Cavaliers, he tore his medial collateral ligament and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
He later joined Bloemfontein-based side the Free State Cheetahs for the 2013 season. However, in his second match against the Boland Cavaliers, he tore his medial collateral ligament and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
He returned to training at the end of 2013 when he was included in the 52-man wider training group for Cheetahs. Although he wasn’t in reckoning for the Cheetahs at the start of the 2014 Super Rugby season – instead making six appearances for the Free State XV in the 2014 Vodacom Cup – he made his Super Rugby debut on 26 April 2014 when he played off the bench in their 35–22 victory over South African Conference rivals, the Stormers. Two more substitute appearances followed against the Bulls and the return leg against the Stormers, before Van Jaarsveld made his first start in the competition against the Sharks and taking just eight minutes to score the first try of the match as the Cheetahs ran out 27–20 winners.
Van Jaarsveld, who was called up to the Namibian national team in 2014 for the first time prior to their end-of-year tour to Europe, later moved on to join Bayonne prior to the 2018–19 season.