James Starke

Jacobus Joubert "James" Starke was a South African rugby union player.

Rugby union career

Starke finished his schooling at Rondebosch Boys' High School and in 1949 started at Stellenbosch University. He first played for the Maties under-19 team and from 1951 for the first team. He captained the club from 1953 to 1965 and also captained the Maties at cricket in 1951.
In 1954 he made his provincial debut for and played for the union until 1961, captaining the province once. He also captained the Southern Universities on tours to Rhodesia and Europe.
In 1956, Starke was called up as a replacement to the Springbok team that toured New Zealand, after the team suffered many injuries. Starke played in seven tour matches as well as the fourth test match against the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland.
In 1958, Starke went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to study there for a year and a half. After retiring from rugby, he remained involved in rugby in Stellenbosch and in the Western Province, where he became selector and chairman of selectors.