John Leslie Gainsford (August 4, 1938 –November 17, 2015) was a South African rugby union player. He was born in Germiston.Gainsford played in 71 matches for South Africa (the Springboks), including tour games, and was known for being the most-capped Springbok centre until his record was overtaken by Japie Mulder in 2001.
Gainsford scored two tries during the 1962 British Lions tour that contributed to South Africa's 3-0 series victory.He played 33 tests for South Africa between 1960 and 1967 and scored 24 points for the national team. Gainsford played his last Test in 1967 against the visiting France team. He scored eight test tries and held the record of 33 Tests during his retirement. His biography is titled, Nice guys come second. Gainsford died in Paarl in November 2015 at the age of 77.