Jasper van der Westhuizen Wiese (born 21 October 1995) is a South African rugby union player who plays for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. He previously played for the in the Pro14, the in the Currie Cup and the in the Rugby Challenge. He can play as a number 8 or a flanker. He made his debut for in 2021. He was a Premiership Rugby champion in 2022, scoring a try in the final and being named as the Man of the Match.
Rugby career
2011–2013: Schoolboy rugby
Wiese was born and grew up in Upington. He attended and played rugby for Hoërskool Upington, which resulted in provincial call-ups for Griquas Country Districts in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
In 2011, Wiese was included in their Under-16 Grant Khomo Week squad for the tournament held in Queenstown. He started all three of their matches, scoring two tries in their second match against Border Country Districts in a 36–15 win and one in their final match against Namibia. His three tries during the tournament placed him in joint-third in the try-scoring charts for the competition, just one behind the leading try scorers.
The following year, Wiese was included in the Griquas Country Districts squad that competed in South Africa's premier rugby union tournament at high school level, the Under-18 Craven Week, held in Port Elizabeth. He emulated his appearance and try-scoring record at the previous year's Grant Khomo Week, scoring three tries in three starts. This time, he scored a hat-trick of tries in a 38–5 victory over Border Country Districts in their second match at the tournament, again a single try behind the leading try-scorers in the competition.
Wiese once again represented his team at the Under-18 Craven Week in 2013, held in Polokwane, starting all three matches and scoring two tries; he scored for the third successive year against Border Country Districts in their opening match and a second against the Leopards in their final match.
2014–2016: Free State and CUT Ixias
After high school, Wiese moved to Bloemfontein, where he joined the academy of the and the university team. He made four appearances for CUT in group stages of the 2014 Varsity Shield competition – one of which was in the run-on side – in a season that saw his team win the competition by beating in the final and subsequently winning promotion to the Varsity Cup for 2015. In the second half of the season, Wiese played for the team in the Under-19 Provincial Championship. He started all of their matches in the number eight jersey, helping them to second spot on the log by scoring nine tries in the competition, second only to ' Jurie Linde in Group A of the competition. He didn't score in the first seven rounds of the competition, but got off the mark in a 34–0 victory over s in Round Eight. He scored four tries in their 54–15 victory over in their next match, and a try in each of the last three matches of the regular season, against , and Golden Lions U19. His final try came in their semi-final match against Western Province U19, but it wasn't enough to help his side into the final, with the team from Cape Town winning 29–22.
Wiese was invited to trials for the South Africa Under-20 squad as they prepared for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship, but wasn't included in the training squad named a week later. He also didn't feature for CUT Ixias in the 2015 Varsity Cup or for the in the 2015 Vodacom Cup, despite being included in both squads, but returned to action in the second half of the season by playing for in the Under-21 Provincial Championship. With Steven Meiring being the first choice eighth man for the team, Wiese shifted to the flank, where he made nine starts and three appearances of the bench. He once again scored several tries for his team – he got tries in matches against , , and , before scoring a hat-trick in their return match against the Sharks U21 in a 74–22 win. Wiese ended the competition as his team's third-highest try scorer behind fellow loose forwards Daniel Maartens and Steven Meiring, as the team finished in second place on the log. Wiese helped them to a 27–22 victory over the Sharks in the semi-final, but the team fell short, losing 17–52 to in the final.