| Born | Cornelius Wilhelmus Dirksen 22 January 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Died | 10 July 2020(2020-07-10) (aged 82) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Vereeniging High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Hanno Dirksen (nephew) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cornelius Wilhelmus "Corra" Dirksen (22 January 1938 – 10 July 2020) was aSouth Africanrugby player.[1] He won 10 caps and scored three tries.[2]
Dirksen made his international debut againstAustralia in 1963. The 1967 series againstFrance was probably his finest hour, scoring all three of his test tries against them.[3] The French were understandably quite wary of him throughout that series, dubbing himLe Monster (The Monster).[1]
He played for the then Northern Transvaal (nowBlue Bulls) and the Oostelikes (Easterns) club in Pretoria, which later merged with Adelaars to form Naka Bulls. After retiring from playing he qualified as a medical practitioner, and moved toKrugersdorp.[4]
He died fromCOVID-19 complications during theCOVID-19 pandemic in South Africa on 10 July 2020.[1]
| No. | Opponents | Results (SA 1st) | Position | Tries | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Australia | 22–6 | Wing | 7 Sep 1963 | Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth | |
| 2. |  Wales | 24–3 | Wing | 23 May 1964 | Kings Park, Durban | |
| 3. |  Ireland | 6–9 | Wing | 10 Apr 1965 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | |
| 4. |  Scotland | 5–8 | Wing | 17 Apr 1965 | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | |
| 5. |  France | 26–3 | Wing | 2 | 15 Jul 1967 | Kings Park, Durban |
| 6. | France | 16–3 | Wing | 1 | 22 Jul 1967 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein |
| 7. | France | 14–19 | Wing | 29 Jul 1967 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | |
| 8. | France | 6–6 | Wing | 12 Aug 1967 | Newlands, Cape Town | |
| 9. |  British Lions | 25–20 | Wing | 8 Jun 1968 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | |
| 10. | British Lions | 6–6 | Wing | 22 Jun 1968 | Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth |