Van den Heever attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, known as Affies), in Pretoria — a school that produced several sports stars such as Bulls players Derick Kuun, Pierre Spies and Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Titans cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Faf du Plessis.

[2][3] On 24 October 2011, Van den Heever left the Bulls to join the Stormers and Western Province.

[4] Van den Heever agreed to join Irish side Munster on a two-year contract after the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division.

[6] He made his debut for Munster on 29 November 2013, starting against Newport Gwent Dragons in the Pro12, but sustained a broken bone in his hand during the game.

[12] After leaving Munster, Van den Heever played for Japanese Top League side Yamaha Júbilo from 2016 to early 2018.