Gert Cilliers
South African rugby union player

Gert Daniël Cilliers (28 July 1940 – 26 January 1986) was a South African international rugby union player.
Cilliers was born and raised in the Orange Free State town of Ficksburg.
A speedy three–quarter, Cilliers played rugby for the University of the Free State and scored a try against the 1960 All Blacks while representing Central Universities. He began representing Orange Free State during the early 1960s and notably contributed two tries in their 14–14 draw with the 1962 British Lions. In 1963, Cilliers was capped in three Test matches for the Springboks against the touring Wallabies, scoring a try on debut in Pretoria.
Cilliers was a school teacher by profession.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gert Cilliers” is south African rugby union player. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gert, Cilliers and South, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “south African rugby union player” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q134450380. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1986, 1960 and 1962.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Gert Cilliers”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Gert Cilliers primary sources, Gert Cilliers archive and Gert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gert Cilliers”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Gert Cilliers” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.