Eight rugby union stars who come from Jewish backgrounds
Rugby NewsTuesday, 12 December 2017 at 10:45
There are very few rugby players, current or former, league or union who have played at the top of rugby and consider themselves Jewish.
Here are eight players who are Jewish or come from a Jewish background:
1. Joel Stransky
The famous number 10 booted himself into history, and legendary status, from a single inspired action that took no longer than a heartbeat.
The Springbok pivot taking a long bullet pass from Joost van der Westhuizen in the dying minutes of extra time to decisively take the drop kick that won South Africa the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Stransky was born in Johannesburg and schooled at Maritzburg. In all, he played 22 tests for South Africa, winning 16 but, frankly, most South Africans wouldn't have minded if he'd lost 21 of those tests as long as he won on the 24th June 1995.
2. David Horwitz
The 23-year-old became Australia’s first Jewish Super Rugby player when he ran out onto the field for his Super Rugby debut for the NSW Waratahs in 2016. He then played for the Barbarians against the Wallabies earlier this year.
3. Jonathan Kaplan
Kaplan was born in Durban to Jewish parents, and was educated at Carmel College, Durban, and King David School, Linksfield, Johannesburg.
He retired in 2013 after 21 years on South Africa's elite referee panel. He had taken charge of, at the time, a record 68 tests and refereed more Super rugby (99) and Currie Cup (150) matches than anyone else.
The South African officiated at four World Cups, in three Super rugby finals and five Currie Cup finals.
4. Josh Kronfeld
Kronfeld described himself as "German-Samoan", and he has been identified as being Jewish.
The 46-year-old represented New Zealand at international level and Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class level in a career that spanned a decade between 1993 and 2003.
During his international career, Kronfeld played in 56 games for the All Blacks, gaining 54 test caps, including appearances at both the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
5. Shawn Lipman
Born on 25 September 1964, Johannesburg, Lipman was capped nine times for the United States in tests, including three 1991 Rugby World Cup games.
He was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
6. Frank Moss
F. S. Moss standing centre arms folded (Lancashire)[/caption]
Frank Moss won three caps for England while at Broughton RUFC in the 1885 Home Nations Championship.
His older brothers; Ralph Slazenger Moss and Albert Slazenger Moss founded the British sporting goods manufacturer Slazenger at Cannon Street, London in 1881.
He subsequently ended his international career when he relocated to New York City to run the business.
7. Zack Test
The 28-year-old is a Jewish-American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team.
Test is the U.S. career leader in tries scored in the World Rugby Sevens Series while has also won seven caps for the Eagles XV, representing them at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
8. Ben Cohen
Ben Cohen, who was part of the England team who won the World Cup in 2003 and most recently known for his stint on Strictly Come Dancing, is of Jewish descent but does not consider himself Jewish.
“My family’s not Jewish,” he said in an interview on his official website, “but a few generations back they used to be. I think it was my great grandfather that married a non-Jewish girl and broke with tradition.”
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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