Rugby ATL signed Neethling Gericke for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The 29-year-old hooker (30 at end of July) is 6’0″ and 227 lbs.
Johannes “Neets” Gericke is from Jongensfontein, Western Cape, South Africa. He attended Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale and then Stellenbosch University where he played in the Varsity Cup for the Stellenbosch Rugby Football Club Maties.
He then attended Life University from 2016-2019 playing with the Life Men’s Senior team, which won the 2017 Division 1 National Championship. He also was an Assistant Coach responsible for defense and the forwards for the Life D1A team with the team winning two USA Rugby D1A Collegiate National Championships. He is a USA level 300 coach and has been a Graduate Assistant to Colton Cariaga since 2017. he also is a coach with Atlanta Youth Rugby.
Rugby ATL Comments
We are proud to announce that Johannes “Neets” Gericke has signed an extension through the 2022 Major League Rugby season. Neethling brings accuracy in the set-piece and tremendous leadership to the locker room. A visionary of the game, Neets has co-created Pathway 404, the first true model to accelerate an individual’s journey through the American Rugby landscape.
“Neets is an example of what we look for in our men. A competitor on the pitch who serves our Pathway 404 and youth for the greater Southeast. We look forward to having Neets this season and beyond,” said Head Coach Scott Lawrence.
“I am very excited to be back. This is the best place to be a rugby professional in the United States. Looking forward to what this franchise will be able to accomplish in this next season,” Gericke added.
