By Elliott West
Introduction
When you think of a South African snooker player, the first one that comes to mind is Perrie Mans but this rainbow nation has produced quite a few skilled players over the years. One such sportsman is Jimmy Van Rensberg. Jimmy won the South African Championship eight times and won the South African Professional Championship in 1984, beating Perrie Mans, 10-7 in the final.
Background
Born in 1931, Van Rensberg excelled at snooker, being described as an ‘outstanding cueist’. He was the youngest player at twenty, to ever win South African amateur snooker title. Jimmy was a humourist, a player who excelled under pressure and was calm and calculated.
Professional Career
Coming from Natal, he turned professional at a rather late age, 46, playing few tournaments in his first season as a professional. He did however reach the final of the South African Professional Championship after beating Silvino Francisco. This was his first appearance in this tournament and he eventually lost to Derek Mienie, 6-9 in the final.
A chequered career on UK soil followed with Jimmy failing to get past the qualifying stage of the 1980 World Championship, losing 1-9 to Tony Meo. It was four years before he returned to Sheffield and it was then that his fortunes turned. Van Rensburg got further into the event, beating Vic Harris, 10-7 and then clawed back in a match against Ray Edmonds from 0-7 down to win the match, 10-9. However he faired poorly in his next match and lost to Silvino Francisco, 3-10. Similarly in the 1985 World Championship, he was 3-0 up but his opponent, Canadian, Marcel Gauvreau, wasn’t having any of it and came back at him, winning the match, 10-9.
Jimmy did reach the last 32 of the 1986 Classic, beating Wayne Jones, 5-4 and John Parrott, 5-3 but eventually lost to Steve Davis, 1-5. This was probably his best year as a professional and reached his highest ranking of 59. From then on his career declined and he was inflicted a series of defeats, losing in 1987 to Barry West, 3-5 in the International Open, 4-5 to Silvino Francisco in the Classic and a 0-10 whitewash to Tony Jones in the World Championship qualifiers.
By 1989, Van Rensburg had lost all of his eight matches played and it was only in the Hong Kong Open that he showed a glimmer of form when he knocked in a 104 break but then lost in the same match to Alain Robidoux, 1-5. It wasn’t until 1990 that he reached the last 64 of the Dubai Classic, losing to John Virgo, 4-5. His last match was in the 1990 British Open where he played Tony Wilson. Wilson won the match and Jimmy was subsequently relegated from the tour in 1991, aged 59.
Conclusion
Jimmy Van Rensburg was a brilliant player but faired much better in his country than internationally. Coming from a group of brilliant players at the time, Jimmy left his mark in his country and played in an era when snooker was far more popular in Africa than it is now. A trailblazer for his nation and a player who should not be forgotten.
