Andries Schutte

Schutte was born in Secunda and earned a provincial call-up as early as primary school level, when he represented the Pumas at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament in 2007. However, he did not play in any national tournaments at high school level.

After school, Schutte joined East Rand side the Falcons. He made eight appearances for the Falcons U19 team in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring tries against SWD U19[2] and Boland U19[3] as the side made it all the way to the final of the competition, where they met Eastern Province U19. Schutte scored his third try of the competition in the final, but it was to no avail as the team from Port Elizabeth won 56–40 to be crowned champions.[4]

He made his first class debut in June 2014, when he came on as a replacement in the Falcons' 22–45 defeat against the Leopards[5] in their 2014 Currie Cup qualification campaign. After another appearance off the bench against the SWD Eagles in a 52–34 victory,[6] Schutte made his first start in a 54–40 victory over the Border Bulldogs.[7] He played in two more matches in the competition as the Falcons finished in sixth place, failing to advance to the First Division.[8] Schutte didn't feature for them in that competition, however, instead moving to the Under-21 squad that competed in the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He played in all seven of their matches in the competition and equalled his try-scoring form of the previous season by scoring three tries, in matches against Eastern Province U21,[9] SWD U21[10] and Griffons U21.[11] The team finished in sixth place, failing to secure a semi-final spot.[12]

From the 2015 season, he firmly established himself in the first team. He started all seven of their matches in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, with his side again missing out on the play-offs by finishing in fifth spot on the Southern Section log.[13] He also appeared in all six of his team's matches in the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series, where the team again qualified for the First Division by finishing third,[14] before also starting all five their matches in the round-robin stage of the First Division. He scored his first senior try in his side's 76–12 victory over the Boland Cavaliers[15] to help the Falcons finish in fourth spot, claiming the last semi-final slot. He also started the semi-final, where a 29–17 victory by eventual champions the Leopards ended the Falcons' involvement in the competition.[16]

He started twelve of the Falcons' fourteen matches during the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series and played off the bench once, also scoring a try in their 59–26 victory over the Eastern Province Kings in their final match,[17] and started all six matches in the 2016 Currie Cup First Division. Schutte scored his third first class try in their Round Four defeat to the Leopards,[18] but their season was ended at the semi-final stage by the same opposition, who won 40–30 in Potchefstroom.[19]