Steven Meiring

Meiring was born in Boksburg and attended high school in nearby Pretoria. He was selected to represent the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls at two national youth tournaments – in 2010, he played as a flanker for them in the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Upington,[2] and two years later he represented them at the premier South African high schools competition, the Under-18 Craven Week. He started all three of their matches as a number eight at the tournament held in Port Elizabeth,[3] scoring a try in their 47–0 victory over Gauteng rivals the Golden Lions.[4]

Meiring moved to the Cape Town-based Western Province for the 2013 season. He made eight appearances for the Western Province U19s during the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring two tries; he scored the only try for Western Province in a 10–34 defeat to the Blue Bulls,[5] and one of nine in their 62–0 victory over Border U19 in their next match.[6] The season ended in disappointing fashion for Western Province as they finished in fifth position, missing out on a semi-final spot despite being the defending champions of the competition.[7]

For the 2014 season, Meiring joined the Bloemfontein-based Free State Cheetahs, where he linked up with the Under-21 team. He didn't feature in the first five rounds of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but, after coming on as a replacement in their next match against the Sharks U21s,[8] started the remainder of their matches in the competition. He scored a single try during the season in their 72–0 victory over Border U21[9] as Free State finished in fourth place.[10] The last of Meiring's nine appearances came in their semi-final match against Western Province, which his former team won 41–17 to end Free State's interest in the competition.[11]

In March 2015, Meiring made three appearances for UFS Shimlas in the Varsity Cup competition. He made two starts and one appearance as a replacement during the round-robin phase of the competition as Shimlas finished in second place on the log with an unbeaten record.[12] He didn't feature in the play-offs, where Shimlas beat UCT Ikey Tigers in the semi-final[13] and NWU Pukke in the final[14] to win the competition for the first time.

Meiring started ten matches for Free State U21 in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship and enjoyed a very prolific season, scoring nine tries. He scored two tries in a match on three occasions – in their home match against Eastern Province U21,[15] their away match against the same opposition[16] and their home match against the Leopards U21s[17] – and scored his seventh try of the season in a victory over the Golden Lions U21s[18] as Free State secured second place on the log to secure a semi-final berth.[19] Meiring opened the scoring for his side against the Sharks U21 in their semi-final match, scoring a try in the fourth minute of a match they eventually won 27–22,[20] and scored a consolation try in the final against Western Province U21, which the side form Cape Town won 52–17.[21] His try-scoring feat put him joint-second on the overall try-scoring charts in Group A of the competition behind teammate Daniel Maartens,[22] and joint-twelfth for overall points scorers.[23]

Meiring was named in the wider training group of the Cheetahs Super Rugby team for the 2016 Super Rugby season,[24] but did not make any appearances. Instead, he joined Kimberley-based side Griquas for the 2016 season. Meiring made his first class debut on 7 April 2016, coming on as a replacement in their 34–14 victory over Griffons in their first match of the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series,[25] before making his first senior start in a 27–17 victory over the SWD Eagles a fortnight later.[26] Meiring made a total of ten appearances for Griquas during the qualifying campaign – making two starts and eight appearances as a replacement – as he helped his team finish in second place[27] to secure one of three available spots in the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division. He made three appearances off the bench in that competition, with Griquas winning four of their eight matches to finish the season in sixth position.[28]