Springboks prop Steven Kitshoff has been forced into retirement at the age of 33 by a serious neck injury.
The loosehead underwent stabilising surgery last year after sustaining the issue playing for Western Province last year.
He had hoped to return to the pitch in 2025 but has been left with reduced rotation of his neck, making the risk of re-injury high, and Kitshoff has now been forced to retire on medical advice.
The prop won 83 caps for South Africa and was a key part of the 2019 and 2023 World Cup-winning squads, coming off the bench at the former tournament before starting the final in Paris.
“Playing rugby has been my life from a young age and I was lucky enough to live the dream of many young boys by representing the Springboks and the DHL Stormers,” Kitshoff said.
“It is obviously incredibly disappointing for my career to end in this way, but unfortunately the risk to my wellbeing was simply too high. I really wanted to finish my story with the DHL Stormers on the pitch and gave the rehab and comeback the best shot I could, but it was not to be.”
Kitshoff made his international debut in 2016 and also enjoyed stints with Bordeaux and Ulster outside of South Africa during his club career.
The prop revealed late last year that the incident during a Currie Cup game that caused his injury had very nearly taken his life.
"It was just another scrum, then three cracking noises - pop, pop, pop," Kitshoff told Rapport newspaper.
"I kept playing, thinking it was a pulled muscle. But now I know, I was two millimetres away from catastrophe, from death.
"The first thing the specialist said to me was 'listen, you're lucky we didn't bury you in a week', because the vertebra that shifted is so close to my brain canal."
