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Bok prospect George Cronje retires at 23 - report

George Cronje of the Toyota Cheetahs during the Currie Cup, Premier Division match between Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on May 19, 2023 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Former Junior Springbok captain and Sharks loose forward George Cronje has reportedly retired from professional rugby at the age of 23 due to persistent knee injuries.

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The 6’4, 107kg back row was viewed an up-and-coming talent after a stellar age grade career.

According to Afrikaans news outlet Rapport Cronje has decided to step away from the game and has returned to his family farm in the Free State. His early exit marks the end of a promising career that began with great expectations but was ultimately hindered by injuries.

Cronje was a standout at Grey College where he made a name for himself with his physicality. In 2021 he captained the Junior Springboks leading a team that went on to produce several future Springbok stars including Canan Moodie, Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

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It were these performances at the junior level that earned him recognition as one of the most promising young forwards in South African rugby.

He played a crucial role in the Cheetahs’ 2023 Currie Cup title victory showcasing his skills as a dynamic and hard-working loose forward.

Following that success Cronje made the move to the Sharks hoping to continue his rise in the professional ranks. However, his time with the Durban-based franchise was cut short as persistent knee problems limited his appearances to eight matches last season.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
Four talking points after a 'bonkers' England loss to Australia

On the face of it the England rush defence seemed to be worse this week than last. I thought the line speed last week was very effective against NZ, and that the NZ tries had to be very well worked to get around or through. But in fact the apparent deterioration of the England defence may have been more about Schmidt learning from the NZ game. Australia were quick about getting the ball outside of the midfield defenders, and England struggled to cover it effectively. Suaailii was a key element of this. The Boks are going to test this next week, and if England don't address it we should see some Bok tries out wide.


The England attack was as expected, ie fairly ineffective, per last week. Smith is the exception. His magic was behind almost everything England did on attack. While it's great for England to have a player like this, the question is what will happen when an opponent targets him to minimize his impact. Can England win a game with their Plan B? We saw what happened in the 2019 RWC final when the Boks shut down George Ford.


More of a surprise was the England forward pack. This ought to be the area in which Bothwick excels. It is a traditional England strength, and Borthwick was a forward himself. And there is a lot of experience in that pack. So I thought Australia might be overwhelmed up front. But that's not really what happened. It's not obvious that the England pack is any more than average at the moment.


My conclusion this week is similar to last, namely that England has not solved its coaching problem. It looks very different for NZ and Australia - they both have coaching results that are looking quite good.

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