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Leighton Eksteen

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Leighton Eksteen
Date of birth (1994-09-15) 15 September 1994 (age 30)
Place of birthRiversdale, South Africa
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb; 10 st 8 lb)
SchoolHoërskool Outeniqua, George
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback / Fly-half / Scrum-half
Current team VVA Saracens
Youth career
2012–2015 SWD Eagles
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2019 SWD Eagles 71 (398)
2016 Southern Kings 5 (0)
2019–present VVA Saracens 1 (0)
Correct as of 30 July 2019

Leighton Eksteen (born 15 September 1994 in Riversdale, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for VVA Podmoskovje in the Professional Rugby League in Russia.[1] He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, fly-half or scrum-half.

Playing career

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Youth rugby and SWD Eagles

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In 2012, Eksteen was selected to represent the George-based SWD Eagles at the premier South African rugby union competition for high schools, the Under-18 Craven Week, held in Port Elizabeth, scoring a try in their 33–39 defeat to Western Province.[2]

He joined the SWD Academy after leaving school and made four appearances for the SWD U19s in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made just four appearances for them in the competition – three starts and one appearance off the bench – but was their top scorer in the competition with 76 points. That placed him as the third-highest points scorer in Group B of the competition.[3] He scored six tries in his four appearances, which included a hat-trick in their match against the Pumas U19s, which saw him score 30 of his side's points in a 55–12 victory.[4] The SWD U19 side qualified for the semi-finals of the competition, but Eksteen didn't feature in their 24–29 defeat to the Falcons U19 in their semi-final match.[5]

He was included in the SWD U21 squad that participated in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship. However, he just in just two matches against Limpopo Blue Bulls U21[6] and Griffons U21 – scoring 21 points through one try and eight conversions in the latter match[7] – before being joining the SWD Eagles' senior squad for the 2014 Currie Cup First Division. He made his first class debut as the SWD Eagles' starting fly-half in a 19–24 defeat to the Falcons in Kempton Park.[8] After also starting their 31–22 victory over the Border Bulldogs in George,[9] he scored his first senior points in their next match, scoring a try shortly before half-time in a 24–35 defeat at home to the Boland Cavaliers.[10] He appeared as a replacement in their 42–27 victory over the Griffons in Welkom in their final match of the regular season,[11] as well as in their 43–45 defeat to the same opposition in the semi-finals a week later.[12] With the senior side's season over, he rejoined the Under-21 side that reached the final of Group B of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, starting the match and scoring his side's only points as the Eastern Province U21s won the match 46–3.[13]

Despite still being eligible to represent SWD at Under-21 level in 2015, he exclusively played for the senior side. He played off the bench in all eight of their 2015 Vodacom Cup matches. Eksteen scored one try in their defeat to Western Province[14] as his side finished in fourth position on the Southern Section log to qualify for the quarter finals, where they lost to the Golden Lions.[15] He appeared in all six of their matches during the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series – showing his versatility as he twice started as a scrum-half, twice started as a fullback and twice played off the bench – and again contributed a single try during the competition, in a 19–13 victory over the Border Bulldogs.[16] However, that was his side's only victory in the competition as they finished bottom of the log and qualifying to play in the 2015 Currie Cup First Division competition. Eksteen was handed the kicking duties during this competition and it coincided with a big turnaround in fortunes, as the SWD Eagles won four out of their five matches, to finish in third spot on the log to qualify for the semi-finals. Eksteen contributed 102 points in these five matches to not only be the SWD Eagles' top scorer in the competition, but also the overall top scorer, ahead of champions Leopards' Adriaan Engelbrecht.[17] His best points haul during the competition came in a 47–40 victory over the Griffons in the semi-final, as he scored one try, two conversions and six penalties to contribute 27 points[18] and help the SWD Eagles reach their first final since 2010. He kicked ten points in the final, but it was not enough, as the Leopards ran out 44–20 winners.[19]

Southern Kings

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At the start of 2016, Eksteen was one of two SWD Eagles players that joined the Southern Kings' Super Rugby squad for a trial period as they prepared for the 2016 Super Rugby season.[20]

VVA Podmoskovye

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In 2019, Eksteen joined the Russian team VVA Podmoskovye (ex. VVA Saracens).[21] In the Russian Rugby Cup 2021, he became the top scorer of the tournament, gaining 36 points.[22]

Statistics

[edit]
First class career
Season Teams Currie Cup First Division Currie Cup qualification Vodacom Cup Total
Apps Pts Apps Pts Apps Pts Apps Pts
2014 SWD Eagles 5 5 — — — — 5 5
2015 SWD Eagles 7 102 6 5 8 5 21 112
2014–present SWD Eagles Total 12 107 6 5 8 5 26 117
2014–present Career Total 12 107 6 5 8 5 26 117

References

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  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Leighton Eksteen". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP 39–33 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2013 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD 55–12 Steval Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Valke 29–24 SWD". South African Rugby Union. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Limpopo BB U21 17–20 SWD U21". South African Rugby Union. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD U21 66–20 Griffons U21". South African Rugby Union. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Valke 24–19 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 31–22 Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 24–35 Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 27–42 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 45–43 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – EP Kings U21 46–3 SWD U21". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 27–19 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Xerox Golden Lions 29–21 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles 19–13 Border". South African Rugby Union. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2015 Absa Currie Cup First Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Down Touch Griffons 40–47 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  19. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards 44–20 SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  20. ^ "New recruits as Southern Kings 2016 season starts" (Press release). Eastern Province Kings. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  21. ^ Крылов, Владислав. "Экстин Лейтон - Регби Клуб "ВВА - Подмосковье"". vva-podmoskovie.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Лейтон Экстин - лучший бомбардир Кубка России 2021". rugger.info (in Russian). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
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