Lood de Jager

thumb|Lood de Jareh Lodewyk de Jager (born 17 December 1992) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team and Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japan league. He usually plays as a lock. Quotes Obviously I have had a few more injuries than the normal guy, But that is just part of the journey and my journey. You suffer those setbacks, and then you come back stronger. Every injury, as bad as it is and disappointing as it is, is just part of your journey and you must see it like that. Match fitness is hard to get when you’re not a naturally fit guy, I am not the best in training, and nothing comes close to match intensity and what you need in a game Initially I’d walk up a flight of stairs and be out of breath. Two months later, it feels better. And eventually you’re back on the field I had taken my health for granted,When you get heart issues, it really puts things in perspective. I always used to look at the old guys and think, why is that guy still playing rugby at 33?Now I understand why.You still feel like you can do it It’s always big playing the All Blacks, But add the history, the stakes, the atmosphere and the fans on top of that, and it’s huge I’m just grateful to be part of such a big rugby event. Emile has a very good work rate, is tough, and is very good at calling the lineout, JF van Heerden at the Bulls also has a lot of promise. Those two really stand out for me, if I think about locks who can represent South Africa in the future. Lood de Jager: The Springbok giant who has learned to treasure every minute, September 2026,IOL by Mike Greenaway Your heart has to work so hard every day, because you’re not quite healthy, that it builds up inflammation around the heart,Then you get the symptoms I got in Argentina Five minutes in I felt like someone was sitting on my chest, I couldn’t breathe. I was almost suffocating, just pressure on my chest and shortness of breath. Just a very eerie feeling . I went off the field and told the doctor something was not right… Tuesday morning I just felt no good. Just stayed in my hotel until we flew back. A big credit to the Springboks medical staff, It was actually misdiagnosed in Argentina because I went for the scans there, that is where I first picked up that there was an issue. The tests there didn’t quite pick it up because I didn’t go for an MRI and then our team doctor was, ‘Look, let’s just make sure when we get back to South Africa that we didn’t miss anything’. So it was then that they picked it up, the pericarditis, so I am very thankful. It could have ended terribly The tests there didn’t quite pick it up because I didn’t go for an MRI and then our team doctor was, ‘Look, let’s just make sure when we get back to South Africa that we didn’t miss anything’. So it was then that they picked it up, the pericarditis, so I am very thankful. It could have ended terribly It’s quite a weird one, playing the game wasn’t as much of a comeback as getting into full training. After the long lay-off, it is always tricky when you deal with these types of conditions. To get the heart rate up and stuff like that is always going to be a big worry. For me, it was more getting into more training than actually playing the match because I didn’t have any physical issues like a shoulder or a knee that prevented me from playing. It was just to get my fitness back in general, get full fitness back, and be able to push my body again, to be able to be fit enough to be able to play it, that was the biggest challenge It was all worked out by our coach and obviously by the cardiologist, the people who are experts in the field. The first 10 weeks was nothing, I couldn’t get my heart rate above 100, I wasn’t allowed to take my heart rate above 100 beats per minute, so it was just rest and then gradually it was two weeks of heart rate between 100 and 120 and then 120 to 140 and gradually they worked it up until I was allowed train at the maximum. That was probably four-and-a-half, five months down the road before I could finally start training and taking my body to max heart rate levels . It was a gradual build-up. I’d say from when I could start taking my heart rate above 100 it was I’d say another eight to 10 weeks before I was allowed to fully train, start training with the team. So the quarter-final I watched on my own, semi-final actually with friends. I knew the French would be a tough game. I thought against England, with their performances earlier on, that it would be a bit of an easy game but that was not the case. They played extremely well and it was even more stressful than the quarter-final. It was very special indeed winning that for the second time (in a row) and seeing how much it meant for the people in the country, People were driving around the streets with flags, honking and playing music. It was an unbelievable thing to experience. Test rugby and that kind of stuff, it’s understandable you have to be very good at set-piece, good at defence and stuff like that. For me, playing in the northern hemisphere and playing in South Africa for so long, it was just like a breath of fresh air to come here. It’s completely different, it’s chalk and cheese from northern hemisphere rugby. It’s just a good attacking mindset of the team, how we want to play with the ball in hand. It’s good to be contributing to the style of play the way I am. I reckon it’s a lot to do with the schedule as well. You have got a lot more free time with a young family. My family is something that is very, very important to me. As well as still working hard and still getting all of the work done, the schedule, they have got it right The schedule in general, there are a few more bye weeks. The club gives us a lot of free time, a lot of time to spend with the family, so for me it has been probably the biggest positive about moving to Panasonic Wild Knights. They prioritise family time for the players, It starts at the top, starts with the staff; the whole organisation is run the right way and it filters down to the players and filters down to everybody – and we have got very good Japanese players I reckon we have got the best Japanese players in the competition mixed with some decent foreigners. It’s just winning is a habit, the same as losing. We pride ourselves on our winning record and we try to keep it every week we take the field. Can’t say too much. I’m taking it game by game. I don’t want to say too much but hopefully, I will be there and it will be good for me. Missing out on last year and rugby in general, I have found my love for the game again. You feel like a kid again every time you are on the field Whether it is for Panasonic or hopefully for the Boks later in the year, I’m just very thankful to be out on the field. When you get a real big scare and things get put into perspective when you get a condition like that, honestly for me every day out on the field is a massive blessing at the moment Lood de Jager: 'I'm very thankful, it could have ended terribly',March 2024, RUGBY PASS by Liam Reagney External links Category:Living people Category:Rugby union players from South Africa Category:1992 births