PICS: You won’t believe how this former Bok turned out…

Joe van Niekerk, affectionately known as ‘Big Joe’, was one of the more popular men to don a Springbok jersey.

In fact, South Africa’s former World Cup-winning coach Jake White still considers him one of the most gifted players he’s ever coached.

But the 38-year-old – who played 52 times for the Springboks – nowadays doesn’t even remotely look like a former Test rugby player!

A photo of Van Niekerk emerged this weekend, where he was visited by former Toulon teammate Pierrick Gunther.

Rugby fans in SA and France had become a bit concerned over the whereabouts of the former flanker, who “disappeared” for about two years.

It turns out Van Niekerk now runs a “psychological fitness centre for burn victims in Costa Rica”.

As the pic shows, he’s truly become a bohemian soul!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkphnEXgLk8/?utm_source=ig_embed

Speculation over Van Niekerk’s true state of mind and his health has been rife ever since a random photo on social media went viral in November 2015, where he looked quite ill following his retirement.

Later, a Facebook post from Nourish, a Swellendam-based health shop, in 2016 seemed to suggest that Van Niekerk had merely shed his bulky rugby frame for a more “wellness” type look…