AJ Venter (born 29 July 1973) is a retired
South African rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
footballer, who played rugby for the
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...
in the international
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
competition, and the in the domestic
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premi ...
competition. Venter also played for the South African national team, the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
.
Venter made his debut for South Africa on 26 November 2000 in a Test against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, and went on to represent the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
25 times. His usual position was as
flanker, but he also played at
lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
or
No 8.
After retiring from professional rugby, Venter up-skilled himself within the financial sector and worked with institutions like
ABSA and
Old Mutual
Old Mutual Limited is a pan-African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the Botswana Stock Exchange. It was founded ...
.
Early life and education
Playing career
In 2002, Venter, along with Richie McCaw of New Zealand, saved referee
David McHugh
David McHugh is a former Irish rugby union referee. McHugh refereed matches at the 1995, 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups. In 1996 McHugh refereed the inaugural Heineken Cup final. He would also referee the 2001 final, making him the first refe ...
from injury when a drunk South African fan ran onto the pitch during a 2002 Tri-Nations game between South Africa and New Zealand in Durban. McCaw wrestled the fan off the referee while Venter ran and tackled both McCaw and the fan to the ground before the rest of the players attempted to drag him off as security ran onto the field.
AJ Venter was selected for the second-string squad for the away legs of the
2007 Tri Nations Series
The 2007 Tri Nations Series was an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The series began in South Africa on 16 June, with a Test between South Africa and Australia at Newlands, ...
in Australia and New Zealand as almost 20 first team players were either rested or injured.
However he decided to retire from International rugby and hence withdrew from the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
touring squad.
His retirement meant that he also missed out on a possible
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
place with the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
, but he cited personal and business commitments in Durban and South Africa as his reasons for the retirement.
Venter continued playing for the
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...
until the end of the
2008 Super 14 competitionbr>
Later in the year, Venter rekindled his passion for the game after a lack of game time, including a controversial exclusion from the Sharks semi-final team. He joined the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...
(Western Province) on a short-term contract, before finally hanging up his boots.
Personal life
Venter is in a relationship with Danielle Oldfield, a holistic dietitian and keynote speaker from Durban, he also had two divorces in his early life.
Venter has talked about going through a tough time in business post rugby and experiencing anxiety, he does a keynote on the lessons learned from these moments of hardship and runs a life skills program for school kids on how to navigate the challenging moments life throws at us.
References
External links
www.lifewithaj.netSharks profileAJ Venteron sporting-heroes.net
AJ Venter's Personal Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venter, Aj
1973 births
Living people
South African rugby union players
South Africa international rugby union players
Golden Lions players
Lions (United Rugby Championship) players
Sharks (Currie Cup) players
Sharks (rugby union) players
Western Province (rugby union) players
Stormers players
Free State Cheetahs players
Rugby union number eights
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union locks
Afrikaner people
South African expatriate rugby union players
Expatriate rugby union players in Italy
South African expatriate sportspeople in Italy
South Africa international rugby sevens players
Male rugby sevens players
Rugby union players from the Free State (province)