CJStander

Since his international debut last year, CJ Stander has quickly established himself as one of the leading back-rowers in world rugby and that has earned him a call-up for The British & Irish Lions 2017 Tour to New Zealand.

The Munster star can play both at blindside flanker and No8, being used primarily in the former position for Ireland, and the latter for his province.

Having turned 27 at the start of April, Stander was born in South Africa, and was a champion discus thrower before turning his attention to rugby.

Part of the Blue Bulls academy, Stander was captain of the South Africa Under-20s side that finished third at the Junior World Championship in 2010, having also featured for them the previous season.

He made his Super Rugby debut for the Bulls in 2012 before moving to Munster in October of that year.

He established himself as a key figure for Munster, with his ball-carrying and leadership, and scored two tries on his first start in a man-of-the-match display.

That has become a theme for Stander, who qualified to represent Ireland the day after the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.

He made his debut in the 2016 RBS 6 Nations, again earning the man of the match award against Wales.

A first try for Ireland came against Italy later in that Championship, and he was also a try-scorer in Ireland’s historic first victory over the All Blacks in Chicago in November 2016.

He started all five games for Ireland during the 2017 RBS 6 Nations, becoming only the second forward ever to score a hat-trick away in Rome against Italy.

An injury to Jamie Heaslip saw him switch to No8 for the final game of this year’s Championship as England were denied a Grand Slam in Dublin.

And Stander carried that form back to the European stage, helping Munster to a Champions Cup semi-final with victory over Toulouse.