Former Springbok Player Grant Esterhuizen Assaulted After All Blacks Test Match in Mbombela

• Former Springbok centre Grant Esterhuizen was the victim of an alleged act of random violence
• He was knocked unconscious in an unprovoked assault outside an Mbombela nightclub following a South Africa vs New Zealand Rugby Championship Test match
• The 44-year-old Esterhuizen represented South Africa in seven Test matches during the 2000 season

Former Springbok player Grant Esterhuizen was assaulted outside an Mbombela nightclub.

The incident allegedly happened following South Africa's 26-10 demolition of New Zealand in a Rugby Championship Test match. Images on Facebook showed him lying on a hospital bed with a bruised face.

He said to Jacaranda FM:

“We were standing outside (the club) and this one guy comes to me and says he feels like he wants to hit me. I turned my back towards him and carried on with my conversation and the next thing I got hit really hard from the side. That’s pretty much the last of what I can remember.”

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I’m pretty straightforward. When I have a couple of drinks, I always say I’m a lover and not a fighter. This was just one of those random acts of violence. The guys looked like they belonged to a motorcycle club. They were out to hurt someone.”

It is not clear yet if he has laid any charges or if the police were investigating the matter.

According to SA Rugby Magazine, the 44-year-old Esterhuizen represented South Africa in seven Test matches during the 2000 season. He also turned out for the Cats, Bulls, Stormers Bourgoin-Jallieu and Clermont at club level.

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As reported by Sports Brief, he was seen on video burning a 2011 Rugby World Cup New Zealand jersey following their 26-10 defeat to the Springboks in a Rugby Championship Test at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit last night.

Teams from the Land of the Long White Cloud enjoy healthy support in South Africa, particularly in the Western Cape.