Franswa Ueckermann

Attending school in Brits, Ueckermann was selected by the Leopards to play at the premier South African high schools rugby competition, the Under-18 Craven Week, in July 2012. In one of his two appearances, he scored a try against Namibia in a 36–29 win.[2]

For the 2013 season, Ueckermann joined East Rand-based side the Falcons, who included him in their squad for the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made nine appearances in Group B of the competition, scoring nine tries, making him the top scorer in the competition.[3] He scored braces in their matches against Griffons U19,[4] Griquas U19[5] and Boland U19[6] and one try in each of their matches against SWD U19[7] and Limpopo Blue Bulls U19[8] during the regular season to help the Falcons finish top of the log with seven wins out of seven.[9] Ueckermann helped them to a 29–24 win over SWD in the semi-finals,[10] before scoring his ninth try of the competition in the final against Eastern Province U19; however, it was not enough to help his side win silverware, with the team from Port Elizabeth winning 56–40.[11]

For the 2014 season, Ueckermann moved to Port Elizabeth to join the Eastern Province. He made seven starts for the Eastern Province U21 team in Group B of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring one try during the season in their 46–3 win over SWD U21.[12] The team won all their matches in the regular season before seeing off Limpopo Blue Bulls in the semi-final[13] and SWD in the final,[12] with Ueckermann starting both those matches to help them secure the title. He also started their promotion play-off match a week later, as Eastern Province won 64–9 against Border U21 to secure promotion to Group A.[14]

Ueckermann returned for their 2015 season in Group A of the competition, starting eight of their matches. He scored one try in their 25–15 victory over Sharks U21[15] before ending the season on a high, scoring two tries in their final match, a 31–45 defeat to Western Province U21.[16] It was a disappointing season for the team, however, as they won just a single match in their first season at their new level, finishing bottom of the log.[17]

Ueckermann was amongst a large contingent of youngsters that were included in the Eastern Province Kings squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series.[18] He was named in starting line-up for their second match of the season against the Boland Cavaliers and made his first class debut in an 18–37 defeat in Wellington.[19] In his sixth start for the EP Kings – against the Sharks XV in Round Nine of the competition – Ueckermann got his first senior try, scoring ten minutes before the end of a 26–34 defeat.[20]