Handre Pollard
Handre Pollard was born in Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa on March 11th, 1994 and is the Rugby Player. At the age of 30, Handre Pollard biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 30 years old, Handre Pollard has this physical status:
Handré Pollard, born 11 March 1994, is a South African rugby union player for both the South African national team and Montpellier in the French Top 14.
He normally plays at fly-half but can also play as a center.
Pollard is currently ranked third on the list of all-time scorers for South Africa in test rugby, behind only Morné Steyn and Percy Montgomery.
Personal life
Pollard is married to Marise (née Malherbe), a South African celebrity who also hails from Paarl.
Rugby career
Pollard was first called up to the Western Province squad for the Under-13 Craven Week competition in 2007. Grant Khomo Week in 2010 and 2012, he also appeared for them at the Under-16 Craven Week tournaments in 2011. and 2012.
Pollard will make the move to Gauteng to join the Pretoria-based team the Blue Bulls at the start of the 2013 season in July 2012. During the 2013 Varsity Cup competition, his first participation in rugby in Pretoria was for university team UP Tuks. He did not play in the first match of the season but later made three substitute appearances in their next three matches before being selected in the run-on team for their final three matches in the round-robin tournament, the semi-finals and the final, with three of those matches being played inside center. He was the main kicker for the UP Tuks team and scored 68 points in his team's run to the final, making him the tournament's second-highest point scorer behind Kobus de Kock. In UP Tuks' 44–5 victory, he was also a key figure in the final of the competition, with five conversions and a penalty to score 17 points.
Pollard was also included in the 2013 Varsity Cup team that competed in the 2013 Vodacom Cup competition. On March 9, 2013 against Griquas in Kimberley, he made his provincial debut for the Blue Bulls. In their 40-32 victory, he came off the bench in the 62nd minute and scored two late conversions. His first appearance for the Blue Bulls came after he was named in the run-on squad for their match against the Eastern Province Kings in the quarter finals of the tournament. He scored 11 points, but he was unable to prevent his team from losing 31–34.
Pollard was also selected in the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division team for the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season in June 2013. In his match against the Sharks in Durban on August 31, he made his Currie Cup debut on August 31. Despite losing by just six minutes after converting an Akona Ndungane attempt, the Blue Bulls lost 34–18 in that match. Pollard appeared in six games and ended as the Blue Bulls' top points scorer in the league and eighth overall, as well as four appearances for the Blue Bulls U21 team in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring 52 points.
Pollard was drafted in the Bulls squad for the 2014 Super Rugby Championships and made his debut in the first round of the tournament in 31–16 defeat to the Sharks in Durban, scoring his first Super Rugby points after kicking late. He made his first Super Rugby appearance against the Cheetahs, initially used mostly as a replacement. The Bulls defeated Pollard in a thrilling match, with him being sent to the sin-bin in the first half and contributing ten points with the boot.
Pollard stayed with the Blue Bulls in 2015 until the 2019 season.
Pollard will return to the Bulls from November 2015 to January 2016 for the 2015–16 Top League season, but not before the 2016 Super Rugby Championships. The Japanese side later revealed it.
Pollard will join Montpellier after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in May 2019, having stated his desire to continue his playing career in France during talks regarding his contract renewal. Pollard, who had announced his resignation, continued to play for Montpellier, eventually starring from the bench as the team lifted their first-ever French championship, beating Castres 29-10 in the final.
Leicester's 2021, 2021, the Tigers announced that they had signed Pollard from Top 14 team Montpellier at the end of the 2021-1922 season. Following George Ford's departure to the Sale Sharks, Pollard joined the Tigers. In a 518 loss to Saracens, Pollard made his Leicester debut as a replacement on October 1st 2022.
International career
Pollard was selected in a South African Schools team in 2012, where he scored 37 points in three appearances against France, Wales, and England.
Pollard was given a call-up to the South African Under-20 team that defeated the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship on home soil. Despite not being in their first match against Ireland, he began his remaining four matches. In their match against Italy and four conversions in their match against England, he kicked five conversions, assuaging South Africa to a semi-final berth. In Argentina's 35–3 semi-final victory over Argentina, the Baby Boks advanced to their first-ever final against four-time champions New Zealand, with three conversions and two penalties. Pollard's boot was largely responsible for their 22–16 victory in the final as he kicked four penalties and a drop-goal to lift the trophy for South Africa for the first time. Pollard was the fourth top scorer overall in the competition, scoring 42 points.
Pollard was accepted in a training group that toured Argentina in preparation for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship before being included in the final squad for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. Pollard's kicks brought him down in their 97–0 loss of the United States in their first match, scoring a point and a conversion out of six attempts before the kicking duties were delegated to Robert du Preez. Pollard did not kick at all during England's match against England, but they did a switch to fly-half in their final match against France, where they defeated France 26-19 to top their pool and qualify for a semi-final against Wales. In a semi-final match against the defending champions, Wales defeated the defending champions 18–17, with Pollard scoring seven points. In the third round of play-off matches against New Zealand, he finished the tournament with 34 points, kicking a penalty and four conversions.
Pollard was selected captain of South Africa's Under-20 squad for the third time during the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship, and he was also named captain of the team. This tournament proved to be Pollard's most prolific as both a first-choice fly-half and kicker. In their 61–5 win over Scotland in their first match, he converted seven conversions. South Africa defeated New Zealand 33-24 in their second pool match, with three penalties, two conversions, and his first attempt in the Junior World Championships as South Africa clinched their third consecutive semi-final victory over Samoa.
South Africa defeated New Zealand again in the semi-finals, with Pollard assisting the Blacks in their fourth straight victory over the Baby Blacks. In a 32-25 victory, he opened the scoring for South Africa with a 20th-minute attempt and also scored three conversions and two penalties. South Africa defeated England 20–21 to finish runners-up in the competition, with him scoring a further ten points in the final.
Pollard was also the top points scorer in the history of the tournament for a brief period of time. Both Pollard (with 131 points) and Argentina's Patricio Fernández broke the record previously held by England's Tom Homer in semi-final matches. However, Fernández's 26 points in their 9th-place play-off match against Scotland made him the new record holder with a total of 155 points, with Pollard in second position with 141 points.
Pollard's success earned him a nomination for the 2014 Young Player of the Year award alongside Nathan Earle, Tevita Li, and Garry Ringrose. Pollard was proclaimed the winner of the tournament at the conclusion of the tournament.
Pollard was called up to the senior Springbok squad for their last match of the 2014 incoming tours series against Scotland at the conclusion of the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship. Pollard was named as the starting fly-half for Springbok's match against Scotland, with Patrick Lambie and Johan Goosen both injured, and Morné Steyn with his suspension from the squad by French club side Stade Français. South Africa defeated South Africa 51-6 on their first international appearance on June 28th, with five conversions and a penalty.
Pollard was named in a 30-man squad named by Springbok coach Heyne Meyer for the 2014 Rugby Championship a few weeks later. In their first match of the tournament against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld, he was dubbed the fly-half; within two minutes of scoring his first points in this competition by converting Ruan Pienaar's early try. He scored a penalty a few minutes later to help the Springboks win by 13–6. Morné Steyn started the Springboks' six matches during the tournament and was a key player in the Springboks' final match of the season. As the Springboks defeated New Zealand 27-25 in Johannesburg, they broke their first-match appearance since the 2011 season ended, in particular, he scored two goals (his first at international level) and kicked a further nine points. He scored a total of 43 points in the tournament, placing him in joint second place with Australian Bernard Foley on the point scoring list and nine points behind tournament top scorer Nicolás Sánchez.
Pollard was forced to miss the majority of 2016 due to a knee ligament injury in February 2016.
Pollard was selected in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. South Africa defeated the tournament for the third time, with Pollard as the tournament's top point scorer. Pollard converted six penalty kicks in the second minute of the final, but then converted two tries for a personal haul of 22 points. Pollard suffered a fractured eye socket during the final, and although he played out the game, his subsequent hospitalization forced him to miss the team's trophy tour for the first four days, but he was able to attend the final leg of the tour in Cape Town.