John van der Giessen
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weight | 114 kg (18.0 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Van Der Giessen (born 6 May 1982 in Jerome, Idaho) is an American rugby union player. He plays lock for the USA Eagle XV side. He was selected to tour with the USA Eagles squad for the Autumn 2010 tour of Europe. Van Der Giessen plays his club rugby for Bath Rugby.
Career
Van der Giessen's debut for his country was in 2008 against England Saxons. He first started playing rugby in September 2001. He had two training sessions and started his first match that weekend at the 25th Annual University of Idaho Alumni Tournament. The founder of U of I Rugby, Joe McGurkin, and a former U of I player and friend, Conrad Breithbach watched the match. Afterwards they both told him he could go as far as he wanted in rugby, if he just stuck with it. He was a University of Idaho Rugby Captain from 2004–2005 and in 2006 was selected for the 2006 NPC Hawkes Bay Reserve side. He was most recently selected to come to the Rugby World Cup Training Camp and was named to the NA4 Hawks Team. Initially named as the reserve lock for the 2007 RWC, Van Der Giessen joined the team in France for its last two matches, following the injury of veteran USA lock Luke Gross. When he is not out of the field playing, he substitutes for children and tells story's about his career. He is very chill.