| Full name | Nicolaas Francois Pretorius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 10 December 1904 Vryburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 19 February 1990 (aged 85) Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80.7 kg (178 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nicolaas Francois Pretorius (10 December 1904 – 19 February 1990), also known as Nic Pretorius, was a South African international rugby union player and referee.
Pretorius was born in Vryburg and went to school in Johannesburg, where he was based during his rugby career as a member of the Diggers club. He played as a specialist back row forward, who possessed the ball handling and kicking abilities of a centre, and was regarded as a clever player in both attack and defence. A Transvaal provincial representative, Pretorius was a member of the Springboks squad for the 1928 tour of New Zealand. He featured in all four Test matches against the All Blacks.
Later a referee, Pretorius most notably officiated the final Test match of the 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa at Newlands. The British Lions won the match 21–16, with Pretorius disallowing a try to Springbok Dai Williams in the final seconds, ruling that the pass he received from Johnny Bester had gone forward.