South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff has been forced to retire from the game because of a serious neck problem.
Kitshoff, a World Cup winner in 2019 and 2023, underwent surgery after sustaining the injury on Currie Cup duty for Western Province in September.
The 33-year-old former Ulster player revealed in a subsequent interview that he was told by a specialist that “I was two millimetres away from catastrophe, from death”.
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Despite extensive post-operation rehabilitation he has been left with significantly reduced rotation in his neck and has been advised that there would be a high risk of sustaining another injury if he played again.
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“It is obviously incredibly disappointing for my career to end in this way, but unfortunately the risk to my wellbeing was simply too high,” the 83-cap international said.
“I really wanted to finish my story with the DHL Stormers on the pitch and gave the rehab and comeback the best shot I could, but it was not to be.”
