Springbok World Cup winner Elton Jantjies has opened up about a number of matters he has recently had to deal with in his life, and his future ambitions, in a podcast published by Rugby Pass on Wednesday.
Jantjies has been in the news for everything but rugby in recent weeks, following allegations about an affair with the Springbok team’s dietician, Zeenat Simjee, his stay in a (rehabilitation) facility in Cape Town and his desire to get his career and personal life back on track.
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Jantjies, a World Cup winner in 2019, has not toured with the Boks to Europe this month following the allegations about his off-field activities during the Boks’ Rugby Championship campaign.
In the Rugby Pass Offload podcast, Jantjies talks about “what’s actually been going on” and also touches on SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus’ recent tweets drama, and his close relationship and friendship with Erasmus.
He also mentions that he has been on a “break” and is keen to get back to rugby. “The main thing was to switch off from a psychological point of view, and personally as well,” he says about his time out from the game.
In the wide-ranging interview, Jantjies also answers some quick-fire questions about team-mates and opponents, including whether he is the right man to be the Boks’ flyhalf at the World Cup in 2023.
LISTEN TO THE RUGBY PASS OFFLOAD PODCAST HERE
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Jantjies’ wife Iva Ristic is apparently living in Turkey with the couples’ children, but it is not known if Jantjies is with her and what the state of the couples’ relationship is.
Ristic allegedly recently also asked Erasmus to step in when she discovered Jantjies wasn’t on tour with the Boks, but Simjee was, according to Rapport.
Simjee in recent days has also apparently again denied it is she who Jantjies was involved with during the Rugby Championship in Mbombela. She has stated someone who looks a lot like her was with Jantjies.
