Springbok and Vodacom Bulls star Cornal Hendricks opened up about the pressure that rugby players are under at the top level during a media event on Monday.
Hendricks said that he can empathise with Nkosi in many ways as he had to deal with a life-changing situation after his career came to an abrupt halt after a heart condition was diagnosed.
“I went through a bad patch in my life as well. I spent three years out of the game. It was tough for me. I didn’t see someone at the time and I thought I was fine. Sometimes those things caught up later in life. Now I realise you can talk to someone and make it lighter on yourself. You can be yourself again.
Hendricks said that the returning Sbu have the support of the Vodacom Bulls and that he is always available whenever somebody needs to speak up.
“I am so proud of Sbu getting help, coming to us and apologising to the team."
“It’s always good to have a teammate back. I am so glad that he is Sbu again. Sometimes we will need to take a step back and realise who we are as human beings. We welcomed him back with open arms because we know what he can do for us.”
"It was sad for us as a team to see what Sbu went through, as a human being. He is Sbu the human being first. Sometimes you don’t understand the pressure that professional rugby comes with. Everyone says that we earn a lot of money. It’s not all about that. It’s also about mental health.
“I offered Sbu help as well. I want to have a coffee with him and hear his story. We all have a story to tell. He can be an inspiration for the next guy coming up. When things settle, I want to ask him about his battles and give him a shoulder as a brother and a player. I want to speak to him about what I went through as well.”
