Johannes Frederick Klopper "Hannes" Marais (born 21 September 1941) is a former South African rugby captain.
[1] Marais was born in the town of Somerset East and grew up on a farm near Cookhouse.
He attended Gill College in Somerset East, a school that also produced the Springbok brothers Willie and Michael du Plessis.
After school he went to study agriculture at the prestigious Stellenbosch University, with the intention of becoming a veterinarian.
In his schooldays he was a loose forward, but was converted into a prop by Danie Craven when he went to Stellenbosch.