Injury forces former Bok to hang up his boots
02/18/2025 01:54 PM
An explosive former Springbok and two-time cup champion has been forced into early retirement by a long-term injury.
Raymond Rhule, La Rochelle’s South African speedster, has not played competitively for 10 months due to a major knee injury, and has decided to call time on his playing career, the French Top 14 club announced on Tuesday.
Declared unfit for high-level sport, Rhule is “medically obliged to put an end to his career and his maritime adventure”, the club said in a statement.
“I had to do this. I haven’t really been on the pitch for two years,” said Rhule in a video released by his club. “I’m a competitor. For me, being in a team means making a difference. So it was better for me to say stop.”
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The 32-year-old, who won the 2012 Junior World Championship alongside the likes of Steven Kitshoff and Handre Pollard, made seven appearances for the Springboks in 2016, scoring one try against Argentina, before leaving the Cheetahs to join Grenoble in 2018.
He moved to La Rochelle two years later, joining fellow Bok Dillyn Leyds, where he made 83 appearances for the club, playing in both of their Champions Cup final wins over Leinster in 2022 and 2023.
A starter in the Top 14 final defeat against Toulouse in 2023, Rhule then suffered a series of injuries, notably to his knee and Achilles, playing just two matches in a year and a half.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
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