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Bok prospect George Cronje retires at 23 - report
By Ian Cameron
Former Junior Springbok captain and Sharks loose forward George Cronje has reportedly retired from professional rugby at the age of 23 due to persistent knee injuries.
The 6'4, 107kg back row was viewed an up-and-coming talent after a stellar age grade career.
According to Afrikaans news outlet Rapport Cronje has decided to step away from the game and has returned to his family farm in the Free State. His early exit marks the end of a promising career that began with great expectations but was ultimately hindered by injuries.
Cronje was a standout at Grey College where he made a name for himself with his physicality. In 2021 he captained the Junior Springboks leading a team that went on to produce several future Springbok stars including Canan Moodie, Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
It were these performances at the junior level that earned him recognition as one of the most promising young forwards in South African rugby.
He played a crucial role in the Cheetahs’ 2023 Currie Cup title victory showcasing his skills as a dynamic and hard-working loose forward.
Following that success Cronje made the move to the Sharks hoping to continue his rise in the professional ranks. However, his time with the Durban-based franchise was cut short as persistent knee problems limited his appearances to eight matches last season.
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Latest Comments
The All Blacks are picked from in country. We don't select from overseas players. If all countries picked from in Country playing group how would everyone stack up. Anyway The Sprinboks are playing awesome rugby and have an amazing Coaching group with team strategies that everyone is chasing, good luck to them for many years to come. Die hard All Black Fanatic.
Go to commentsThanks for the article, Brett. For sure an interesting topic. Fiji coming in would be good. But they would need to always have their overseas players available to be fully competitive.
Japan have always been a good team to play, but there are doubts as to where they are going under Eddie Jones. As always he is talking himself up, but the latest results are poor. The 41 - 17 defeat in the PN Cup Final in Sept. for example. But in the longer term, under a better coaching team, would def. be wanting to play them each year.
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