Keanu Vers

Keanu Vers

Personal information
Full name	Keanu Armandio Vers
Born	(1996-02-04) 4 February 1996 Middelburg, South Africa
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	78 kg (12 st 4 lb)
School(s) attended	Grey High School, Port Elizabeth
University	Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Club information
Playing position	Fullback / Winger / Centre
Current club	Eastern Province Kings
Youth career
2009–	Eastern Province Kings
Amateur team(s)
Years	Team
2016–	NMMU Madibaz	7	(5)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Pts)†
2016–	Eastern Province Kings	2	(0)
Representative team(s)‡
2014	South Africa Schools	2	(10)
2016–	South Africa Under-20	0	(0)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 27 May 2016. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 27 May 2016.

Keanu Armandio Vers (born (1996-02-04)4 February 1996 in Middelburg, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with the Eastern Province Kings. He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, winger or centre.

Rugby career

2009–14: Schools rugby

Vers represented his local provincial union, Eastern Province, at all youth levels throughout his school career. In 2009, he played for them at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament held in Kimberley, scoring tries in victories over the Golden Lions and KwaZulu-Natal. In 2012, he played for them at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week, again scoring two tries during the tournament in matches against South Western Districts and Boland.

He was chosen to represent them at the foremost schools rugby union competition in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week, in both 2013 and 2014. In the 2013 event in Polokwane, Vers scored a try in a 29–18 victory over the Falcons and he kept up his record of scoring in each tournament when he got a try in their 19–5 victory over Free State in the 2014 tournament in Middelburg, helping Eastern Province to victories in all three of their matches, including a 25–7 win over South Western Districts in the main match on the final day to finish the tournament as unofficial champions.

After the tournament, Vers was also included in a South Africa Schools that participated in the Under-18 International Series against teams from France, Wales and England. He was an unused replacement in their 28–13 victory over France, but was promoted to the starting line-up for their 40–15 win over Wales in their second match. He retained his spot for their final match against England and repaid the faith by scoring two tries in the match, but still ended on the losing side as England won 30–22 in the match played in Stellenbosch.

2015: Eastern Province Under-19

Vers joined the Eastern Province Academy for 2015 and was included in the Eastern Province U19 squad that competed in Group A of the 2015 Under-219 Provincial Championship, their second season since winning promotion from Group B at the end of 2013. Vers' first appearance at this level came in a match against the Sharks U19 and he took just 47 minutes to score his first try in a 26–7 win. He scored another try in their next match against Golden Lions U19 and made three more starts, helping Eastern Province to finish top of the log, winning eleven of their twelve matches. He started their 31–15 win over Free State U19 in the semi-final and also started the final, playing the entire 80 minutes of their 25–23 victory over the Blue Bulls U19s, helping his side win the Under-19 Provincial Championship for the first time in their history.

2016: NMMU Madibaz, Eastern Province Kings and South Africa Under-20

At the start of 2016, Vers played in the 2016 Varsity Cup competition with NMMU Madibaz. He scored one try in their 19–46 defeat to the UFS Shimlas in a disappointing season for NMMU that saw them finish second-last in the competition. After the Varsity Cup, Vers joined an Eastern Province Kings side that suffered serious financial problems which saw a number of first team regulars leave the union and he was among a number of youngsters that were included in their squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series. He was named in the starting lineup for their first match of the season against the SWD Eagles and made his first class debut by playing the first 50 minutes of the 14–37 defeat before being substituted. He was named on the bench for their third match of the season against the Border Bulldogs and came on as a replacement in the 56th minute.

However, he missed most of the competition due to his selection in the South Africa Under-20 squad. He was included in an extended training squad in March 2016, and was also named in a reduced provisional squad a week later. On 10 May 2016, he was included in the final squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.