When the Springboks started this hugely successful era under Rassie Erasmus, their first triumph came in a sensational 42-39 comeback against England in 2018.
For that game at Ellis Park, Aphiwe Dyantyi and Sbu Nkosi both enjoyed stunning Test debuts on the wing, sharing three tries between them, while Elton Jantjies made a key appearance off the bench.
Not even seven years later, and no one could have predicted the predicament each of these players now find themselves in.
Here we take a look at three Springboks who promised so much, but ultimately saw their careers derail into disappointment
Elton Jantjies
There was a time when the 2010 SA Rugby Young Player of the Year was undoubtedly the most highly-regarded flyhalf in the country.
Jantjies was a pure sensation as the Lions reached both the 2016 and 2017 Super Rugby finals, with the talented pivot proving to be the perfect catalyst for a team that embraced an ambitious ball-in-hand style of play.
After serving as a prominent member of the Springbok team from 2016 to 2019 – including forming part of the World Cup winning squad – it’s only in recent times that the wheels have well and truly fallen off.
Over the latter parts of his once celebrated career, Jantjies has found himself at the centre of several controversial stories, including allegations of an affair with the Springboks’ team dietician, as well as an arrest at OR Tambo airport after alleged unruly behaviour on board a return flight to South Africa.
Back in 2023 it was then revealed that Jantjies, who is now 34 years old, had allegedly tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
The 46-cap Springbok flyhalf has protested his innocence over the adverse finding, but the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport proceeded to hand down a four-year suspension as an appeal never materialised.
Even though Jantjies has suggested that he believes a rugby comeback could be on the cards, it’s a deluded sentiment, and ultimately his career has ended in ignominy.
Aphiwe Dyantyi
The ‘lost’ Springbok career of wing Aphiwe Dyantyi also has to be one of the greatest disappointments in recent memory.
During that golden era of Lions rugby from 2016 to 2018, Dyantyi was one of the players who burst onto the scene with his unique skill set, blistering pace, and an ability to both create and finish tries with clinical execution.
His raw potential was immediately spotted by Rassie Erasmus when he returned as Springbok coach, and in his first year of Test rugby, Dyantyi scored six tries in 13 Tests.
He was then deservedly named the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year on 25 November 2018, joining a list of some legendary players who won this award before and after him, and at that point the rugby world was truly at his feet.
Heading into 2019, a World Cup year, Dyantyi was expected to have a key role to play for the Springboks, but there was a bombshell to come.
In July 2019, as Dyantyi fought to recover from an injury in time to be selected for the World Cup, he reportedly tested positive for banned substances metandienone, methyltestosterone and LGD-4033.
After his ‘B’ sample also tested positive, he ultimately received – and served – a four-year ban from all rugby.
In June 2023 it was announced that he had signed with the Sharks as the Durban franchise offered him a ‘career lifeline’, but once he returned to action at the age of 29, it was clear that he was a shadow of his former self.
It’s understandable that four years out of the professional game has had a massive impact on Dyantyi’s game, and despite recently making a move from the Sharks to the Bulls, he has not played all that prominently.
There is a mountain to climb for him to get back onto the national radar, and the debilitating effect of his four-year ban is not only a cautionary tale for others, but remains one of the greatest ever Springbok career disappointments.
Sbu Nkosi
Sadly, there is a common theme that runs across all three of these ‘career let-downs’, with Nkosi the most recent player to be handed a three-year ban after apparently testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
It’s effectively brought a premature end to a bright career that was once filled with numerous highlights reels at both Springbok and club level with the Sharks.
Unfortunately for Nkosi, his career begun to derail not long after he formed part of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad, with the winger enduring numerous personal battles away from the game.
Nkosi ultimately revealed he had been contending with severe mental health battles after going AWOL not long after joining the Bulls from the Sharks.
He was eventually released by the Bulls before attempting a comeback at the Cheetahs last year. Unfortunately, though, that was also cut short by the positive test for a banned substance.
In all likelihood, Nkosi seems to have played his last professional rugby game despite having only just turned 29, and once again we can only be left to wonder about what might have been.
HOW MUCH POTENTIAL DO YOU THINK THESE THREE PLAYERS HAD?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
