Lood de Jager on playing again after health scare: ‘Rugby is important, but it’s just a game’
· Citizen
Springbok lock Lood de Jager is not looking beyond next year’s Rugby World Cup, but said a move back to South Africa is not off the table.
He also hinted at a career in coaching after eventually retiring from the game, and named a few young players he sees as potential successors to the No 5 lock position for the Springboks.
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The 33-year-old earned his 76th Test cap when the Springboks beat the All Blacks 29-24 in Soweto on Saturday to claim an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
Reflecting on an increasingly injury-hit career in which he has still played at two World Cups (2015 and winning in 2019), De Jager said he is feeling fit and strong at the moment.
Especially as his battle with Pericarditis (inflammation around the heart) saw him miss the 2023 World Cup and set his sights on 2027 in Australia.
“With the Pericarditis, there was a lot of unknown,” the Springbok lock said.
“So that is why you appreciate it so much when you get through it and get a chance to run outside and train with the boys.
“I enjoyed my rugby a lot more. It puts things in perspective when you get a scare like that. At the end of the day, rugby is very important to us but it is just a game.”
He said those around him felt some panic when they learned of his heart issue.”It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody,” he said of his mental and physical battle to recover over four months, adding that “in a weird way, it was a good thing in the end because of the appreciation”.
De Jager on an SA return
When his five-year deal at the Wild Knights concludes next year, De Jager could return to South Africa.
It would be a timely homecoming after the lock spent three seasons at Sale Sharks following several successful seasons with the Cheetahs and Bulls before moving abroad.
“I haven’t really decided what to do after next year,” he said.
“My mindset now is to give it a full crack until the World Cup and then see what happens from there.”
He said he would play rugby for as long as he could. It would be up to his coaches to tell him it was time to retire.
Thereafter, “I’ve always been passionate about wanting to coach at some level at some stage… I don’t know if I will get into it straight after I’ve played, or maybe take a bit of time before I make that decision.”
Future successors: Two Van Heerdens
De Jager highlighted Sharks player of the Year, Emile van Heerden, and 22-year-old rising Bulls star JF van Heerden – who is set to fill the boots of departing Bok Ruan Nortjé this URC season – as two No 5 locks who could play for the Springboks in the future.
“I’ve been impressed with a guy like Emile van Heerden. I think he has a very good work rate. Tough, good lineout caller. I think he’s been good.
“[And] a guy like JF van Heerden at the Bulls has a lot of potential. Those are the two that really stand out… But it’s not my decision.”