When it comes to South African sports there are very few athletes that have an emotional effect on the lives of sports lovers in the way that the national rugby team the Springboks does.
Known for representing communities, cultures and religions from all walks of life, the current group of athletes are arguably one of the most diverse squads in the history of the sport in our country, allowing fans from various parts of mzansi to resonate with each of the players as they finally feel represented.
In addition to this, the success they achieve on the rugby field simply exemplifies this feeling as fans now get to celebrate milestones such as winning two Rugby World Cups and a British and Irish Lions series in unity.
But while many of these players achieve numerous accolades for their on-field performances, there are some who have successfully used this momentum to build themselves profitable businesses outside of the sports arena.
In this article, we look at some Springbok players who have managed to establish themselves profitable businesses outside of rugby.
Damian Willemse
Known for being the youngest-ever rugby player to win two Rugby World Cups, 26-year-old rugby player Damian Willemse has always been earmarked as a player destined to reach great heights in his professional career.
Among some of his greatest achievements to date has been winning the prestigious tournament twice, a British and Irish Lions trophy win, winning the inaugural United Rugby Competition with the Stormers and winning the Currie Cup alongside his brother Ramone Samuels.
Despite, the current success, the Milpark student has made some smart decisions where his future is concerned – and in 2020 he and his brother, Ramone opened their own funeral business named Samwill Funerals. To date, the business has continued to reach great success and has even been featured on Showmax’s Afrikaans series Die Ondernemers (The Undertakers).
Faf de Klerk
Since winning the Rugby World Cup in 2019, the South African flag speedo has become a visual synonymous with the bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk. This is all thanks to a locker room video that circulated the internet, showing the blonde-haired player greeting English royalty Prince Harry while donning these undies. This year Faf decided to turn this into a lucrative business adventure when he launched his new business called Faffies, which specialises in swimsuit attire for men and women.
Trevor Nyankane
If you think the launching of businesses was only for those playing in the backline, then you are mistaken. Prop Trevor Nyankane has now also tapped his toes into a project he is extremely passionate about – gin. Since its introduction in 2021, the brand has been featured at several spirits and wine festivals as well as restaurants in certain parts of the country.
Malcolm Marks and Steven Kitshoff
Inspired by the iconic Springbok bench which had an immense impact on coach Rassie Erasmus’s plan to win the rugby world cup, teammates Malcolm Marx and Steven Kitshoff came up with their own beer called, Bomb Squad Lager
The beer is a passion project for the duo who claim that they have always wanted to do something together outside of rugby and felt that it might be a good thing to pursue into retirement.
