Former Springbok 'Jungle Joe' talks consciousness and life after rugby

Van Niekerk was destined for greatness from the start. The mobile loose forward captained his charges at SA Schools, U19 and U21 levels, earning him the rare achievement of being drafted straight into the Bok setup despite having never been capped at Currie Cup or Super Rugby level.

Unfortunately for van Niekerk, his career was hamstrung by injuries. But in between, he earned 52 caps for the Boks before becoming a club legend at Toulon where he won the 2013 Heineken Cup, earned 122 caps and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in March this year. The Port Elizabeth native finally retired in 2014.

While many Boks stay close to the game they love in retirement, van Niekerk virtually disappeared. He finally surfaced in Costa Rica under the moniker Jungle Joe on social media.

Speaking to the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast featuring former Wallabies Adam Asley Cooper and Drew Mitchell, van Niekerk touched on his journey.  

"I needed a change," he admitted.

"I went into solitude for about two years. It was basically just to find myself. To recognise 'what am I without rugby?'. For those two years, I was just doing a lot of healing work. I tried plant medicine, mushrooms and all those psychedelics and I ventured on the inner landscapes. It's been an incredible journey.

"Rugby is such a big part of your life and then when that gets taken away, it's like, 'what now?'. You build up this identity over so many years. And that can be a painful experience [to let go]. It can be a death in some sense."

While the work on the field is done, for van Niekerk, the work on one's self is never-ending.  

"When you become more conscious, you start to look at all aspects of your life and bring consciousness to it," continued the 44-year-old.

"Then you realise 'oh wait this has nothing to do with anyone else, it's got to do with me'. And all that I see is a mirror and that mirror is reflecting back what I need to work on inside myself."

Van Niekerk is now a certified holistic health mentor and bodywork practitioner offering a variety of healing programs. 

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