South Africa
SPRINGBOK LEGEND ANDRÉ VENTER REFUSES TO BOW TO A CRIPPLING NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION – AND HIS SON ANDRÉ-HUGO IS SHOWING THE SAME WARRIOR SPIRIT AS HE CHASES A FIRST SOUTH AFRICA CAP
BOUT 14 years ago now, I travelled to Bloemfontein to hear André Venter’s story. The former Springbok flanker outlined the events that had led to a diagnosis of transverse myelitis, and spoke about how much his life had changed since he’d been confined to a wheelchair.
However, the warrior spirit that had defined Venter as a Test player between 1996 and 2001 was still prominent. “I haven’t given up, I truly believe that I will walk again,” he said.
After elaborating on the condition and his quest for a cure, he spoke about the philosophy that he was passing down to his children, André-Hugo and Annabel. At that stage, André-Hugo was the captain of the U9 C team at Grey College – the South African rugby factory that has produced 46 Springboks to date.
“There’s no pressure on him to become a Springbok player,” Venter Snr said at the time. “As long as he’s a Springbok in his heart I’ll be happy.”
Fast-forward to the present, where Venter Jnr is one of the most promising young players in South Africa – and on the verge of winning his first Test cap.
After winning the United Rugby Championship title with the Stormers in 2022, he was selected for the national team’s tour to Europe, and featured for the South Africa A side against Munster and Bristol Bears. A few weeks ago, the 22-year-old hooker was invited to the first Springbok alignment camp of the season. Coach Rassie Erasmus is looking to bolster the world champions’ front-row stocks, and there’s a good chance that Venter Jnr will be unleashed in the coming months. Physical comparisons have been made between the father and the son since the latter joined the professional ranks. When you speak to both players in question, they prefer to focus on mental traits. Evidently the Venter warrior spirit has been passed down to the next generation.
“It’s funny that you mention that comment about ‘being a Springbok in your own heart’,” Venter Jnr says. “Those words were hammered into us from an early age. My dad views the Springbok emblem as the golden standard and he uses it as a metaphor for other parts of life. He taught us to do our best, in whatever we choose to do.
“While he’s never put any pressure on me to be a rugby player, he’s always pushed me to excel at academics. He wasn’t happy when I failed a couple of university modules recently,” the Accounting Management student adds with a laugh. “That’s the standard he sets: whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability – and know it can all be tak
