1
Joe van Niekerk is barely recognisable after years in Costa Rican jungle
By Ian Cameron
Once he was he rampaging through opposition defensive lines for a living, but now the only thing former Springbok back row Joe van Niekerk crashes throw is the dense foliage of the Costa Rican jungle.
Van Niekerk has taken the road less travelled in retirement and now calls an organic farm in the central American country his home.
The 6'4 41-year-old has shed 15kgs of bodyweight and looks a world away from the 108kg forward that starred as a captain of Toulon in the south of France just eight years ago. He runs the organic farm and a spiritual retreat and says he has found peace after questioning his identity after retiring.
Rugby fans could easily take a glance at the pictures posted on the Rama Organica on Instagram and not recognize 'Big Joe' as he was once known. His transformation is quite dramatic.
Guardian journalist Jonathan Drennan caught up with the former Springbok star, who seems to have found his true calling after years on the road in a campervan after retiring from professional rugby in 2014.
His physical change has caused a stir back in South Africa.
“South Africa is crazy about their rugby and, even though I’d been out of the game for a while, someone popped up with this image of me where I looked a lot different and had lost around 15kg of weight," told The Guardian. "During those two years, I had experienced so many shifts and really was very happy about where I was. People could say whatever they wanted. I didn’t take any of it to heart. I just understood that they were curious. Even if they said unkind things, I didn’t mind. It was a big shock to some of my closest friends, and even my mum to see me so different physically, but the change has led to me building even closer bonds with them.”
A star of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Van Niekerk revealed that he spent 2 years in France after retirement where he reinvented himself away from the sport, which was followed by a global campervan trip that would eventually lead him to Costa Rica.
"Ultimately this idea led me to Costa Rica, where we purchased a 25-hectare organic farm. We organise different transformational journeys for people and, honestly, I can’t tell you the joy it brings. When you see someone arrive here tired mentally and physically and then leave revitalised, I realise I am in the right place."
He looks very much the spiritual guru and a man who has found his true calling. More power to him.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
Go to comments