Bokdle #19: 20 Oct 2026

The mystery green and gold player on 20 Oct 2026 was Franco Mostert: Test player #872 · Lock / Flanker · 85 caps · 4 tries · 2× World Cup winner · School: Brits High School.

Franco Mostert is the kind of lock who rarely makes the highlights but almost always makes the team: a tireless, technically sound second-rower with more than 80 Test caps and two World Cup winner's medals. Born in Welkom in November 1990, he went to Brits High School and studied at the University of Pretoria, playing Varsity Cup rugby for UP Tuks from 2010 to 2012 while coming through the Blue Bulls' youth teams.

A setback at the start

In 2013 he moved to Johannesburg to join the Golden Lions, and almost immediately was badly hurt in a car crash that ruled him out for the rest of that year. He recovered fully, and in 2014 made his Super Rugby debut for the Lions in a 21–20 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. He played more than eighty Super Rugby games for them, in the years when the Lions were one of the most exciting teams in the competition.

Japan and England

From 2016 he combined the Lions with spells in Japan at the Ricoh Black Rams. In 2018 he joined Gloucester in the English Premiership, and in 2020 he left to play in Japan full-time with Honda Heat, where he has made more than eighty appearances.

Springbok

Mostert made his Test debut off the bench against Ireland at Ellis Park in June 2016 and has been a fixture in the squad ever since. He can cover lock and blindside flanker, which makes him invaluable to the Springbok bench. He won the World Cup in Japan in 2019 and in France in 2023, and the Rugby Championship in 2025.

Test record

From bokhist.com's Test-by-Test list, up to the end of September 2026:

• Springbok number: 872
• Debut: 18 June 2016, aged 25, off the bench against Ireland at Ellis Park, Johannesburg (won 32–26)
• Most recent Test: 27 September 2026, aged 35, at lock against Australia at Perth Stadium, Perth (lost 38–42)
• Tests: 85: 55 starts and 30 off the bench
• Results: 55 wins, 2 draws and 28 losses, a winning rate of 65%
• Starts by position: lock 41, flanker 14
• Most often played against: New Zealand (14 Tests)

Did you know?

• His four Test tries came against Italy in Padua (2017), Australia in Sydney and Ireland in Dublin (both 2022), and Wales in Cardiff (2024).
• He has won about 65% of his Tests.

Sources: bokhist.com, en.wikipedia.org

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