19/07/2026
I had been looking forward to this weekend’s match against Wales for a number of reasons.
I was back in Durban, the city where I lived and worked for many years, spending time with my mom and my younger son Matt, catching up with old friends and rugby colleagues, and watching the Springboks at Kings Park with my oldest son, Josh, who is an avid rugby supporter.
Watching the Springboks live is always a great experience, and the atmosphere at Kings Park was electric.
South Africa’s 43–0 victory over Wales made it three wins from three in the Nations Championship. Rassie Erasmus had once again made significant changes to the team and given younger, less experienced players an opportunity. With four players making their Test debuts, there were always going to be some mistakes and a lack of cohesion, but it was another chance to build the depth South African rugby will need going forward.
The fact that the match was played on Mandela Day also gave the occasion added significance.
Nelson Mandela’s connection with rugby will always take me back to 1995 and that extraordinary Rugby World Cup. His appearance at the final wearing the Springbok jersey became one of the great symbols of reconciliation in our country’s history.
I was fortunate to have worked with members of that Springbok squad during their preparation for the World Cup, and I remain incredibly proud to have played a small part in such an important period in South African rugby.
Sitting at Kings Park this weekend and watching another generation of young players being given their opportunity, I found myself thinking about how much time has passed. Some of those players had not even been born in 1995, yet more than 30 years later rugby still has an extraordinary ability to bring South Africans together.
My own journey to that point had really started a few years earlier.
In 1990, I was accepted into Life University in the United States to study towards my Doctor of Chiropractic degree. I already had an undergraduate degree and would spend the next four years studying chiropractic while also playing rugby for the university on a rugby scholarship.
That was really where the two things that would go on to shape so much of my life began to come together.
The president of Life University at the time had a vision of using rugby to help introduce chiropractic to people across the United States. We travelled to tournaments around the country, setting up our gazebos and chiropractic tables alongside the fields. Under the guidance of qualified chiropractors, we were able to develop our skills while working with players from the teams taking part, both before and after their matches.
Those of us who played rugby certainly got plenty of extra practice.
I was studying something I had developed a real passion for while still playing the game I loved. I was also surrounded by people who would have a lasting influence on my life, including Mare Moolman, who had first introduced me to chiropractic and later captained Despatch and Eastern Province, and my late, great friend Grant Butterworth.
I certainly didn’t know then where the combination of rugby and chiropractic would eventually take me.
Being back in Durban more than three decades later brought many of those memories back.
After the Springbok match, Josh and I headed to Rovers to watch the Junior Springboks win the U20 World Championship. It was a fitting way to end the day, sitting with my son and watching another generation of South African rugby players make memories of their own.
Rugby has changed enormously since I first started playing, but its ability to connect generations, create friendships and bring people together hasn’t changed very much at all.
