# Breyton Paulse

Breyton Paulse (born 25 April 1976 in De Keur, Koue Bokkeveld) is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Africa, scoring 26 tries.

## Early life

In his youth, in addition to rugby, he participated in cricket, soccer, and athletics, representing Boland in the 200m and 400m sprints. The farmer who employed his parents recognized his talent for rugby, and to nurture it, paid his tuition fees to attend Stellenbosch University, which has produced many Springbok rugby players.

## Rugby career

Paulse garnered attention almost from the start of his top-flight rugby career with a hat-trick of tries in his first Currie Cup match in 1996, and made his debut for the Springboks in 1999. In his first appearance for the Springboks against Italy, he scored a hat-trick. After scoring his third try that day, he performed his trademark flick flack, a cartwheel followed by a back flip, which he continued to perform after particularly special tries.
At the end of the 2000 domestic season, he became the first player of color to be named South African Rugby Player of the Year, capping a season in which he scored two tries in Western Province's win over Natal in the Currie Cup final
In the Currie Cup, playing mainly for Western Province, he has averaged nearly a try a match.
Paulse moved to France for the 2005–2006 season and played for Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14. He remained eligible for Springboks selection, as SA Rugby abandoned its past policy of requiring that Springbok players play domestic rugby in South Africa. Springboks coach Jake White indeed selected him for the 2005 Tri Nations, and started him in South Africa's first three matches. Paulse scored an important try in South Africa's series-opening 22–16 win over Australia. However, in the Springboks' third match (against Australia), Paulse received a three-week suspension for kicking Australian prop Al Baxter.
In the end of 2006, Paulse was picked by the Stormers franchise to be part of their team for the 2007 Super 14 where he strengthened his chances to once again don the Springboks colors.
He was selected for the squad that was present at the 2003 Rugby World Cup finals, but was only selected to the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals, as a reserve player.
His last appearance in the green and gold was against New Zealand during a Tri Nations match in Christchurch in 2007 at the age of 31.

## International statistics
### Test Match Record

| Against | P | W | D | L | Tri | Pts | %Won |
| Argentina | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
| Australia | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 35 | 50 |
| Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
| England | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| France | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 66.67 |
| Italy | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
| New Zealand | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 38.46 |
| Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
| Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Scotland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 75 |
| Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Wales | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 100 |
| Total | 64 | 36 | 1 | 27 | 26 | 130 | 57.03 |
P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

### Test tries (26)

| Tries | Opposition | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
| 3 | Italy | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Boet Erasmus Stadium | Test match | 12 Jun 1999 | Won 74–3 |
| 1 | New Zealand | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | 1999 Rugby World Cup | 4 Nov 1999 | Won 22–18 |
| 2 | Canada | East London, South Africa | Basil Kenyon Stadium | Test match | 10 Jun 2000 | Won 51–18 |
| 2 | Australia | Melbourne, Australia | Colonial Stadium | Mandela Challenge Plate | 8 Jul 2000 | Lost 23–44 |
| 2 | Argentina | Buenos Aires, Argentina | River Plate Stadium | Test match | 12 Nov 2000 | Won 37–33 |
| 1 | Wales | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | Test match | 26 Nov 2000 | Won 23–13 |
| 1 | France | Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | Test match | 16 Jun 2001 | Lost 23–32 |
| 2 | Italy | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Boet Erasmus Stadium | Test match | 30 Jun 2001 | Won 60–14 |
| 2 | Australia | Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | Tri Nations Series | 17 Aug 2002 | Won 33–31 |
| 1 | Ireland | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands | Test match | 19 Jun 2004 | Won 26–17 |
| 1 | Wales | Pretoria, South Africa | Loftus Versfeld | Test match | 26 Jun 2004 | Won 53–18 |
| 2 | Pacific Islanders | Gosford, Australia | Central Coast Stadium | Test match | 17 Jul 2004 | Won 38–24 |
| 1 | New Zealand | Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | Tri Nations Series | 14 Aug 2004 | Won 40–26 |
| 1 | Australia | Pretoria, South Africa | Loftus Versfeld | Tri Nations Series | 30 Jul 2005 | Won 22–16 |
| 1 | Scotland | Durban, South Africa | Kings Park Stadium | Test match | 10 Jun 2006 | Won 36–16 |
| 1 | New Zealand | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Tri Nations Series | 22 Jul 2006 | Lost 17–35 |
| 1 | Australia | Johannesburg, South Africa | Ellis Park Stadium | Tri Nations Series | 9 Sep 2006 | Won 24–16 |
| 1 | Australia | Sydney, Australia | Telstra Stadium | Tri Nations Series | 7 Jul 2007 | Lost 17–27 |

## Stance on Quotas

Breyton Paulse has spoken out against the use of racial quotas to diversify South African rugby, saying, "It is a big degradation for the players...[it] nearly broke me", after Springbok rugby coach Nick Mallet described his selection in the 1999 World Cup Squad as "merit with bias". Despite this knock to his confidence, he went on to become one of South Africa's most capped players and leading try scorers by the time he retired.

## Honours
### Western Province

* Currie Cup: 1997, 2000, 2001

### South Africa

* Tri Nations: 2004