Joseph Stephanus Theuns Lewies (born 27 January 1992) is a South African rugby union player for the Harlequins in the Premiership in England.[1] His regular position is lock.
His Currie Cup debut came during the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season, when he started in their match against the Golden Lions.[4] He remained in the side for the rest of the season, starting two matches in total and making three substitute appearances, including coming on in the Currie Cup final, where he contributed to the Sharks beating Western Province 33–19.[5]
He started in the Premiership final against Exeter on 26 June 2021 as Harlequins won the game 40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever and went on to lift the trophy alongside 2nd captain Alex Dombrandt and departing Quins legend Mike Brown .[11]
In April 2024, he captained Harlequins as they beat Glasgow Warriors to record their first ever knockout stage victory in the European Champions Cup.[12] The following weekend he captained the side to their first ever Champions Cup semi-final beating Bordeaux Begles 42-41 away in the quarter finals.[13] Lewies scored a try, prevented another one and got a try assist in 41-32 victory over league leaders Northampton Saints in the Big Summer Kick Off fixture hosted at Twickenham Stadium.[14]
Ahead of the 2024-25 season he relinquished the captaincy after four years to Alex Dombrandt.[15] In December 2024, he signed an extension to his contract with Harlequins to keep him at the club for at least a seventh season. During this time he revealed he had nearly retired from rugby the season prior after a sustaining a series of injuries.[16]
In 2016, Lewies was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring England Saxons team.[17] He was named in the starting line-up for their first match in Bloemfontein,[18] but ended on the losing side as the visitors ran out 32–24 winners.[19]
