Many of the Springboks' star players have had their careers go downhill due to their mischievous personalities and juvenile delinquent tendencies.
Dating back to 1891, South Africa has produced 933 international Test rugby players, and of course there are many so-called “bad boys” among them.
And because the history of the Springboks goes back centuries, it's virtually impossible to know all of them, and what acts make them bad boys. These are some of the most famous Bok villains in recent history.
Below we identify the most famous Springboks who were just as bad off the field as they were good on it.
In recent years, the top three Springboks have turned into bad boys.
Elton Jantjies
Throughout his playing career, Jantjies was always a polarizing figure, but this did not deter him from a decade-long international career during which he played 46 Tests between the ages of 22 and 32. Piled up.
However, as his time in the Springbok jersey grew shorter, Jantjies' off-field behavior became more erratic and irresponsible. It was so bad that in May 2022, he was arrested at OR Tambo Airport for assaulting a flight attendant on a flight.
Later that year, he had an extramarital affair with the Springboks' nutritionist, causing him to quickly lose his place in the team. This led to the breakdown of his marriage to his wife, Iva Ristic, who fled the country with their three sons and ended up in Turkey. At this point he also lost his lucrative contract with a Japanese rugby club and they no longer wanted anything to do with him.
Jansey's spiral didn't end there. Despite refusing to sign his wife's divorce papers, he began an extramarital affair again. The case also ended in tears and controversy, as the woman accused Jantjies of domestic violence. The final nail in the coffin for Jantjies' career came earlier this year when he was banned from all forms of rugby after being found guilty of using banned substances.
The 33-year-old is currently in South Africa, working as a kicking and attack coach at various schools through the Luga Schools Coaching Academy.
Elton Jantjies may not have been the original Springbok boy, but he will be remembered as one of the most notorious.
Photo: BackpagePix.
James Small (1969-2019)
James Terrence Smull died of cardiac arrest at the Harlem strip club in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, but that doesn't tell you that he was the ultimate Springbok bad boy.
Small was part of the inaugural Springbok squad when the Boks faced the All Blacks at Ellis Park in 1992 and was part of the magical team that beat the odds to win the 1995 World Cup.
Lest we forget, Small also won the Currie Cup in three different provinces: Transvaal, Western Province and Natal. In 1996, he played in Super Rugby for the Stormers.
He was one of those athletes who straddled the transition period between amateur and professional rugby.
Small was a foul-mouthed fighter who never backed down from a fight, which made it difficult to tell whether he was motivated by passion or violence. And for his efforts, he would go down in history as the first Springbok player to be readmitted to hospital after receiving a red card for dissent in a 1993 Test match against Australia.
But rugby was just one chapter in his life. Away from the game he loved, Small lived wide and proud. From modeling to business (legal and otherwise) to alcohol and drug abuse to sex, this man was the epitome of a Springbok bad boy.
One of the things about Small that sets him apart is that even though he always had a scar on his shoulder and kept his heart hidden, whether he was a talented rugby player or a man caught up in society, That I was never ashamed of who I was. “Trends” and traps in the world.
Joost van der Westhuizen (1971-2017)
The young Van der Westhuizen made his Test debut for the Springboks against Argentina in 1993 and within two years was a well-known figure within the team.
He captained the Springboks 10 times and scored 38 tries in 89 Test matches. These statistics, and the unique way in which he reinvented the scrumhalf position, have made the late Van der Westhuizen widely regarded as one of the game's all-time greats and one of its most iconic. Masu.
But the chiseled scrum-half has not been without faults, especially in his private life. In 2001, she divorced her wife of six years, Marlene, and shortly thereafter married TV personality Amore Vittone.
Van der Westhuizen and Vittone had two children together, but their seemingly idyllic life was shattered in 2009 when a video of the Springbok in a compromising position with a blonde woman was leaked to the media. did.
In the video, he was seen wearing only underwear and smelling a white powder believed to be cocaine. After denying it for a while, Van der Westhuizen admitted he was the man in the sex tape and apologized. However, it could not save his second marriage and they separated.
In 2011, just two years after that scandal, the Springbok was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. He bravely battled the disease and did great work to raise awareness around the world, but six years after his diagnosis, Springbok No 593 lost his battle and passed away in 2011. February 6, 2017.
