Ex-Springbok reveals he had decided to quit rugby to play in the PSL after chat with a Sundowns coach
Former Springbok fullback was an accomplished cricketer and footballer in his youth and could have become a professional in either sport after representing national teams at junior levels.
Image: FILE
It’s well documented that former Springbok fullback Conrad Jantjes excelled in a number of sports before becoming a professional rugby player in the early 2000s.
The 45-year-old rose to prominence with the Lions in the Currie Cup and the Cats in Super 12, going on to claim 24 caps for the Springboks.
He played his first Test for the Springboks in 2001, at the age of 21, a 60-14 win against Italy at the old Boet Erasmus Stadium in Gqeberha. He would feature regularly that year but would not be selected again until 2005.
A move to Western Province and the Stormers in 2007 revived his career, and he earned a recall from then-coach Peter de Villiers, going on to feature heavily in late 2007 and 2008. He was expected to play a part in the Springboks’ series against the British and Irish Lions the following year, but that all changed after he broke his leg in a Super Rugby clash against the Chiefs.
Before becoming a rugby player, Jantjes was an accomplished cricketer and soccer player, and could have gone professional in either sport.
Speaking to fellow ex-Boks Rudy Paige and Juan de Jongh on their Behind the Ruck podcast, Jantjes revealed that he was ready to quit rugby and pursue a career in professional football after a chance meeting with his former national under-17 coach Trott Moloto.
“I was in the same hotel as the Sundowns team, and Trott Moloto, who was my Under-17 coach, saw me in the lobby and told me how proud he was of what I had achieved in rugby. He said, ‘Come have a chat with the Sundowns guys.’
“Trott said, ‘When you’re ready, come play football.’ This is one of my biggest disappointments – I’m not going to say regrets. The day I broke my leg, I’d just come back into the Springbok setup and I was going to play against the British and Irish Lions, and I broke my leg a month before the tour.
“I had made a decision that I was going to give football a go. I was going to play the Lions series and then walk away. I had set it up. I was going to go back to football. Not many people know that. That was the next thing I wanted to do, but I was stuck on my back for 11 months.
“That was one of my biggest sporting disappointments.”
When quizzed about which team he would have played for, he said: “Coach Trott said I must pull in over there. I might have ended up at Sundowns. I would have loved to have gone to Pirates. I put out some feelers and I was going to give it a go. If I fail, I fail, that’s okay, but I just wanted a crack at it.”
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