{"id":659607,"date":"2025-12-28T10:59:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T10:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/659607\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T10:59:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T10:59:12","slug":"giant-south-african-lock-joins-japan-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/659607\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant South African lock joins Japan club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a move that should catch the attention of rugby fans in South Africa, the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights have officially announced the signing of SA-born lock Juan Oosthuyzen.<\/p>\n<p>At just 23 years old, Oosthuyzen arrives at one of Japan\u2019s most successful franchises through the Japanese university system. Having dominated the collegiate scene with Toyo University, the young giant is now set to test his mettle at a higher level.<\/p>\n<p>He is said to be the tallest player in Japan at 212cm, weighing in around 130kg. During his youth days, Oosthuyzen was in the <a href=\"https:\/\/bullsrugby.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bulls <\/a>academy, but failed to secure a senior deal.<\/p>\n<p>South African lock has a towering presence<\/p>\n<p>Standing at a staggering 212cm (approx. 6\u201911\u201d), Oosthuyzen is a physical specimen.<\/p>\n<p>During his tenure at Toyo University, Oosthuyzen became a \u201cdiamond in the rough\u201d for scouts. In late 2024, he gained significant attention for his ability to use his size not just for power, but for mobility, frequently breaking defensive lines and displaying soft hands with offload passes that led to crucial tries.<\/p>\n<p>Oosthuyzen expressed his gratitude upon joining the squad.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI am truly honored and excited to begin this new journey,\u201d he said. \u201cI am committed to giving my 100% for the team and our fans at all times, while bringing a positive attitude and a smile every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Huge potential\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Oosthuyzen\u2019s move is his long-term eligibility. Having spent his formative rugby years at a Japanese university, he is on a trajectory that could eventually see him qualify for the Brave Blossoms (Japan\u2019s national team) under World Rugby\u2019s residency rules.<\/p>\n<p>For a nation often looking to add size to its tight five, a 212cm lock with South African \u201cDNA\u201d and Japanese training could be a mouth-watering prospect.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think of this move?<\/p>\n<p>Let us know by clicking on the comment button below <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/sport\/rugby\/giant-south-african-lock-joins-japan-club\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a move that should catch the attention of rugby fans in South Africa, the Saitama Panasonic Wild&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[8924,1123,4151,79,124355,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-659607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-bulls","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-springboks","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}