Conrad Jantjes

Who is Conrad Jantjes?

Conrad Jantjes is a South African rugby union footballer who plays primarily as a fullback for the Springboks in international rugby and the Stormers in Super Rugby. In the domestic Currie Cup he spent six seasons with the Golden Lions before switching to his current team, Western Province.

Former Springbok coach Harry Viljoen handed Jantjes his debut against Italy in 2001, but he fell out of favour before forcing his way back into contention during Jake White's reign as the team's coach.

He failed to win a place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup but found a new lease of life under Peter de Villiers, playing all South Africa's test matches in 2008.

However despite looking like being South Africa's first choice full back for the 2009 British & Irish Lions series he broke his leg during the 2009 Super 14 season, and was ruled out for over a year until making a return in the 2010 Currie Cup.

Jantjes was born in a close-knit family as the only son and youngest of three children. He grew up with a love for all sports and represented South Africa not only in rugby, but also in both cricket and football at junior level.