Nel
WP Nel is a South African-born tighthead prop who represents Edinburgh and Scotland. Discover his career with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.
WP Nel Bio
Willem Petrus Nel, better known by rugby fans around the world as WP Nel, is a Scottish tighthead prop who currently represents Edinburgh and Scotland. Throughout his distinguished career, he’s also represented the Cheetahs, the Boland Cavaliers and Western Province.
Born in South Africa on 30 April 1986, WP Nel began his professional rugby-playing career with Western Province in 2008. However, after making only four appearances for the side, he moved to Boland in 2009. Following a successful stint with Boland, he then moved to the Cheetahs.
From here, WP Nel’s career really took off. Between 2009 and 2012, he made 56 appearances for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup and made a further 46 appearances for the Cheetahs in Super Rugby.
However, in 2012, WP Nel decided to leave South Africa in order to join Edinburgh in the PRO12 (now the United Rugby Championship). He’s stayed with the side ever since and has now notched up more than 150 appearances for the Scottish club.
After three years representing Edinburgh, WP Nel became eligible to play for Scotland. In 2015, he made his international debut for the side. Later in the same year, he was named in Scotland’s final 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup. Since, he’s made more than 35 appearances for Scotland, including four of the side’s games at the 2019 edition of the Rugby World Cup.
With several years of elite rugby left in him, we can’t wait to see what else WP Nel will achieve in the game.
