Michael Bernardt
Michael Rudger Gerardus Bernardt (born 19 March 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player, who most recently played with the . His regular position is centre, but he can also play as a fly-half or winger. Career. Youth rugby. Bernardt was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He attended Oakdale Agricultural High School in Riversdale, Western Cape, Bernardt was selected to represent his local provincial side, the , at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week competition in 2009. Two years later, he once again played for the side, this time at the Under-18 Craven Week competition held in  Kimberley, scoring a try in their match against the . In 2012, he made the move to Durban to join the . He played for the side in the 2012 Under-19 Provincial Championship, contributing one try in their match against former side . He progressed to the side in 2013, making a five appearances in the 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but starting just one of those – their 13–36 semi-final loss to the . NMMU Madibaz. In 2014, Bernardt moved to Port Elizabeth to join Varsity Cup side . He made a big impact in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition, scoring four tries (the most  of any NMMU backline player) to help his side reach the semi-finals of the competition for the second successive season. Eastern Province Kings. After the 2014 Varsity Cup, Bernardt also made two starts for the in the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. The first of these was a 28–21 victory over the , which was Bernardt's first class debut. He also played in their final match of the campaign (for the first twenty minutes of the match before injury resulted in him coming off), which saw them beat the previously-unbeaten 27–11 in Durban; this wasn't enough to help  the Kings into the quarter-finals, finishing in fifth spot in the Southern Section. He was one of 50 players named in the EP Kings' training squad prior to the 2015 season.