André Venter

André Venter

Full name	André Gerhardus Venter
Date of birth	(1970-11-14) 14 November 1970
Place of birth	Vereeniging, South Africa
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	131 kg (20 st 9 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1997–2002 1998–2001	Free State Cheetahs Cats
correct as of 11 October 2012.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1996–2001	South Africa	66	(45)
correct as of 11 October 2012.

André Gerhardus Venter (born 14 November 1970 in Vereeniging, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union footballer who earned 66 caps playing for the South Africa national team during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He represented South Africa during the 1999 Rugby World Cup where they finished third.

Bill McLaren once said that "He's no oil painting, but look at him working the blind side like a pop-up toaster!

A few years after his retirement he was diagnosed with a degenerative syndrome of the central nervous system, later revealed to be transverse myelitis, which causes damage to the spine, and forced him into a wheelchair. Later, his former Springbok teammate, Joost van der Westhuizen developed a degenerative nervous disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.