Elton Thomas Jantjies (born 1 August 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team, the in the

Japan Rugby Football Union The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU; ja, 日本ラグビーフットボール協会, ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Kyo-kai'') is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan nation ...

and the in the

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 premier ...

. Jantjies made his professional debut with the

Lions (Super Rugby) The Lions (known as the Sigma Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. They competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020, and have competed in the Unit ...

during the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, and his International debut 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 ...

during the inaugural Rugby Championship. He has received several significant sporting awards, including the SARU Young Player of the Year award (2010), and the SA U20 Player of the Year award (2010). In June 2014 it was reported that Jantjies had signed a contract with Japanese side

NTT Communications Shining Arcs Urayasu D-Rocks, commonly known as the D-Rocks, or the Shining Arcs, is a rugby union team owned by NTT Communications and is part of Japan's Rugby League One competition, currently in Division 2. Given the name, the team is based in Urayasu Ci ...

who play in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. This move meant that he would be ruled out for the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

competition.

Domestic career

Golden Lions: 2011–14

Jantjies gained a reputation as being a clutch performer after he successfully converted every goal attempt in the 2011

final, a game in which the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

defeated the Sharks 42–16. This performance earned him the Man of the Match award.

Super Rugby: 2011–2020

Jantjies made his

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 ...

debut in 2011 for the Lions. 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 ...

for the 2013 season on a loan deal after the Lions were relegated from the South African conference. His stint with the Stormers was largely unsuccessful compared to the previous season with the Lions where he had an 86% goal-kicking success rate. He returned to the Lions who had won promotion back to the

competition. Jantjies reached the finals with the Lions in both 2016 where the Lions lost to the Hurricanes in Wellington and 2017 where they lost to the Crusaders at their home crowd in Johannesburg, playing a huge part in getting them there. Jantjies was also the highest points scorer in the competition in 2017, scoring 203 points that season.

International career

Jantjies made his international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

test debut for the

South Africa national rugby union team 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 jerse ...

during the inaugural Rugby Championship against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 29 September 2012, at Loftus Versfeld, however his debut for the Springboks came in a non-test, uncapped game against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

in the 2010 end of year tests. Jantjies was named in South Africa's squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final.

International tries

''As of 26 August 2017.''

Personal life

He is the older brother of fly-half

Tony Jantjies Altonio "Tony" Shedrick Jantjies (born 19 April 1992) is a professional South African rugby union player for Alcobendas in the División de Honor in Spain. His regular position is fly-half. Career Youth Jantjies represented the at the 2008 ...

. Weeks before he joined the Stormers, his father Thomas Jantjies died in hospital after being stung by a bee. In previous interviews, Jantjies had described his father as his mentor and kicking coach. Jantjies was suspended from the Springboks squad in September 2022 while in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

after allegations surfaced of inappropriate behaviour with Zeenat Simjee, the Springboks dietician. It was reported that he spent a night away from the team at a separate hotel during the test series against New Zealand (a highly unusual practice for athletes) where patrons allegedly heard the two having sexual encounters and then arguing. He left without paying the hotel bill, only paying the outstanding charges weeks later. Jantjies is married to Iva Ristic, who is the mother of his 3 children. The Springbok press release on 11 September 2022 stated:

References

External links

* *
IRB JWC Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jantjies, Elton South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Stormers players Rugby union fly-halves 1990 births Cape Coloureds Living people People from Graaff-Reinet South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players South African expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan South African expatriate sportspeople in Japan Urayasu D-Rocks players Section Paloise players NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka players Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape