Lood de Jager hopes his injury woes will be behind him as he targets future Bok return

Springbok lock Lood de Jager is hopeful that his injury woes will soon be behind him and that once he recovers and returns to competitive action, that he will still firmly be in the Bok frame over the coming years.

De Jager, who was a World Cup winner with the Boks in 2019, missed out on the 2023 edition due to a rare heart condition called pericarditis, which was picked up shortly before the naming of last year’s World Cup squad.

After recovering from that De Jager returned to action with his Japanese club Wild Knights late last year, but received another blow when he picked up a shoulder injury that was initially expected to keep him out for two months, but now it seems he may only return at the end of the year.

Despite the disappointment of his most recent injury, which means he will have missed almost two years of Bok action, De Jager was in high spirits when chatting to media at a Caste Lager event in Kyalami earlier this week.

“I feel like I have to reintroduce myself to everybody again, I’ve been off the field so long people keep asking me if I’m retired,” said De Jager with a laugh.

“I want to get back, it’s been a while, but it’s a slow process, we’re taking it day by day, just following the doctor and physiotherapists’ advice. It’s a tricky one (the injury), and I’ve started my rehab properly now.

“I was in a sling for about six weeks, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping to be on the field sooner than later. We’ve seen real progress in the last three to four weeks, it’s difficult to put an exact time on it, but I will be back on the field again.”

Injury extent

Explaining the extent of the injury De Jager believes he could be back in franchise action in December, but admitted he would miss the rest of the Bok season and hopes that he will still be picked again next year.

“The tendon has to heal and reattach to the bone. Timeline-wise, the doctors are saying six to eight months (for recovery). That would put us between December and February, earliest December, so I will miss all the Test matches for the Springboks this year,” explained De Jager.

“Hopefully I will have another crack next year. I prefer doing my talking on the field, but injury is part of life, you can only work with what you have in front of you, and my desire and excitement to get back is as real as it ever was.

“I’m hoping that if Rassie picks me again, I can repay him. My luck over the last two years has not been good, but my desire to play for the Boks has only increased.”

De Jager said that he did not want to emulate his fellow Bok lock RG Snyman, who endured a terrible run of injuries between the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, that kept him out of action for the majority of those four years, although he took part in both events to become a double World Cup winner.

“RG and I had a laugh about it, he said to me: ‘Don’t go all the way to the next World Cup (injured) like I did, you can start playing before that’. I’m on my way but I don’t want to be out as long as he was, that’s one record I don’t want to break,” said De Jager.

Evolving Boks

Looking at the Boks this year, De Jager is thrilled with the way they have been evolving since the World Cup and he is extremely impressed with their start to the Rugby Championship where they picked up two bonus point wins against the Wallabies Down Under while utilising their full squad.

“It is simply wonderful to watch the Boks go from strength to strength. They are in a very good place, and I can’t remember when they were last this healthy. They went to Australia with quite a few newcomers and Rassie gave everybody a chance,” said De Jager.

“I think RG is the only guy who didn’t play and they still beat Australia comfortably away from home, while bringing in youngsters to gain experience.

“But the big thing is this instils competitiveness in the group, and that makes the Boks so much stronger. I’m excited for the future of SA rugby, and what the boys are doing at the moment is special.”

Looking ahead to the challenge of the All Blacks, despite the Boks being seen as favourites by many fans and pundits, De Jager is well aware of what kind of danger the New Zealanders possess, and he is expecting a massive challenge in the two Tests against them.

“It’s difficult to say with the All Blacks. You could see in that previous game against Argentina that they were desperate, and a desperate team is a dangerous team,” said De Jager.

“I think we’ll have a good plan and they’ll come across with good plans, it’s the epitome of Test rugby when the Boks play the All Blacks, especially at Ellis Park, they’re going to come out all guns blazing and we’ll do the same.”