Springbok lock Lood de Jager has opened up on the heart condition that ruled him out of the 2023 World Cup. CLINTON VAN DER BERG reports.
Some rugby stories are about tries and turnovers. De Jager’s is about learning to walk up a flight of stairs again.
Back in 2023, in the middle of a World Cup buildup, the Bok lock was floored by pericarditis, inflammation around the heart, triggered by a viral infection he’d unknowingly played through.
“Your heart has to work so hard every day, because you’re not quite healthy, that it builds up inflammation around the heart,” he explained. “Then you get the symptoms I got in Argentina.”
What followed was four months of nothing. No training, no running, barely any energy.
“I felt just flat – nothing,” he said.
Recovery came in small, monitored steps: walks, then jogs, heart rate capped, patience enforced.
“Initially I’d walk up a flight of stairs and be out of breath. Two months later, it feels better. And eventually you’re back on the field.”
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It reshaped how he sees the game he plays for a living.
“It’s very important to us, but it is just a game,” he said ahead of his 76th Test cap, against the All Blacks at FNB Stadium on Saturday. “When you get heart issues, it really puts things in perspective.”
He came back, he says, enjoying rugby more than before.
That perspective now sits alongside a rare kind of longevity. De Jager was the baby of the 2015 World Cup squad. He’s 33 now, two World Cups deep, still going.
“I always used to look at the old guys and think, why is that guy still playing rugby at 33,” he said with a laugh. “Now I understand why. You still feel like you can do it.”
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He’s also thinking about who comes next. Emile van Heerden gets a firm nod of approval: “Very good work rate, tough, good lineout call.”
So does promising Bulls lock JF van Heerden.
“Those two really stand out for me, if I think about locks who can represent South Africa in the future.”
As for this rivalry, the one he just helped settle again on the field, De Jager doesn’t hide how much it means.
“It’s always big playing the All Blacks,” he said. “But add the history, the stakes, the atmosphere and the fans on top of that, and it’s huge. I’m just grateful to be part of such a big rugby event.”
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A heart scare that could have ended a career instead reshaped one. Two World Cups, one of the fiercest rivalries in sport, and a player who never stopped being grateful just to run again.
It’s some story.
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
