Steven Kitshoff (born 10 February 1992) is a South African professional rugby union rugby player. His playing position is loosehead prop. He represents the South Africa national team and captained the in the United Rugby Championship and previously Super Rugby, and has previously played for in the French Top 14 and Western Province in the Currie Cup. He joined Ulster for the 2023-24 season.
Kitshoff was a member of the South Africa Under 20 team that won the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship. In addition, Kitshoff was part of the Western Province team that won the 2012 Currie Cup.
Kitshoff attended Hendrik Louw Primary School and Paul Roos Gymnasium.
Career
Kitshoff first broke through during the 2011 season, making 5 substitute appearances for the Stormers and then 5 Currie Cup appearances for Western Province while still only a teenager. He became more of a regular during 2012, nailing down the number 1 jersey for both the Stormers and Western Province and also winning the Currie Cup title with Province in an impressive win over the in Durban. His 2013 Super Rugby campaign was solid and he carried that form into the Currie Cup later in the year where he was an ever-present as Province reached a second consecutive Currie Cup final this time going down at home to the Sharks. 2014 was a year of frustration as he succumbed to a season-ending injury towards the back-end of the Super Rugby season and this ruled him out of Western Province's successful Currie Cup campaign in which they lifted the title for the second time in three years with a narrow win over the at Newlands.
In February 2015, it was revealed that Kitshoff would join French Top 14 side at the conclusion of the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division season. He spent two seasons in France before returning to Cape Town in 2017. In his second stint with the Stormers, he was named captain of the team in 2021, and led the team as they won the inaugural United Rugby Championship in 2022. He signed for Ulster ahead of the 2023–24 season.
International rugby
On 28 May 2016, Kitshoff was included in a 31-man squad for their three-test match series against a touring team.
Kitshoff was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2023 Rugby World Cup. South Africa went on to win both tournaments, defeating England in the 2019 final and New Zealand in the 2023 final.
Springbok statistics
Test Match Record
Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored