DOUBLE World Cup winning prop forward Steven Kitshoff has been forced to retire from rugby after a serious neck injury, his club Stormers announced on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old, who played in South Africa’s World Cup winning teams in Japan in 2019 and France in 2023 and earned 138 caps for the Springboks, sustained the neck injury playing in a Currie Cup match for Western Province last year.
A statement by the Stormers reads: “After undergoing initial conservative therapy, the decision was taken to have stabilising surgery.
“Following an extensive rehabilitation process he has been left with significantly reduced rotation of his neck and the advice from a specialist neurosurgeon was that there would be a high risk of another injury should he continue playing.”
Kitshoff was first called into the Stormers squad as an 18-year-old, requiring special permission to train with the seniors at such a young age, debuting in 2011 and winning a first Springbok cap in 2016.
His distinctive red hair made him a standout on the pitch.
“It is obviously incredibly disappointing for my career to end in this way, but unfortunately the risk to my wellbeing was simply too high,” he said.
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