Cornal Hendricks, former Springbok and community figure, tragically died from a heart condition, despite overcoming medical warnings to continue his rugby career.
Known as a “beacon of light” in Wellington, Hendricks inspired his community by returning to club rugby after professional setbacks and proving resilience despite socio-economic challenges.
Hendricks is remembered for his contributions both on and off the field, with his legacy as a role model and community activist firmly cemented in South African rugby.
Cornal Hendricks, a “beacon of light” in the Boland rugby community, was told years ago by a medical professional to get a pacemaker inserted and stop playing rugby. The 37-year-old died tragically at his Wellington home after collapsing on Wednesday night. Diagnosed with a heart condition in 2016, Hendricks had overcome the odds since he was told that his playing days were over.
Deals with the Stormers and French club Toulon fell through as a result of an ECG that revealed his condition, but Hendricks was adamant that he wanted to continue his career.
Through the help of his medical team, led by cardiologist Wouter Basson, Hendricks eventually secured a deal with the Bulls in 2019 that re-ignited his career.
During the years that followed, Hendricks was a key member of coach Jake White’s side and, at one stage, was back on the Springbok radar, although he never added to his 12 Test caps.
Before that Bulls deal, however, Cape Town-based GP Douglas Baard had met with Hendricks around the time he was trying to get his Stormers deal over the line and suggested that he stop playing rugby. A registered GP by trade, Baard had since left that space to start a disability assessment company in Cape Town, from which Hendricks and his management sought advice.
“They came to see me, and the story I was told by Cornal at the time was that he was wanting to play for Western
Province, and their medical team was not happy with his [ECG] report,” Baard told News24 on Wednesday.
“There was an abnormality noted on his ECG, and he brought that ECG to me, which I had a look at. “I looked at the ECG and thought it looked like a third degree heart block. I said to him: ‘If you want my opinion, you should not be playing rugby. This is a dangerous thing’.
“I told him that this is what people dropped on the field from… It’s a life-threatening condition and I told him he shouldn’t be playing rugby and that, at the very least, he needed a permanent pacemaker installed.” A pacemaker, though, would not solve all of Hendricks’ problems.
“Any cardiologist that goes and inserts a pacemaker in him is going to say: ‘I’m not so keen on you playing rugby’ because a physical contact sport can actually loosen the electrodes of the pacemaker and we wouldn’t know about it, and you’re back at square one,” said Baard. “I told him that even with a pacemaker, it was not wise to play hard contact rugby.
“At the time, I remember him saying to me that he came from a not-well-to-do family and there was just no way he could stop playing rugby. “I said: ‘I hear you, but I’m telling you now this is a dangerous condition’.
“That was the end of our discussion. They were with me for 45 minutes, they left, and I don’t know what happened then.”
Well, what happened next was Hendricks being isolated from the professional stage he craved so dearly. The Toulon deal fell through, and he was left without an income through the only avenue he knew. At that stage, Hendricks returned to where it all began – Roses United Rugby Club in Wellington – where he laced up his boots once more and tackled the amateur ranks with the same passion and gusto that had made him a Springbok just three years earlier.
“Our rugby community in Wellington has been shocked hard,” Roses chairperson Herman Bailey told News24 on Thursday. “He was always in and around the club, particularly in 2017 when this whole issue with his heart condition came about. “He came back and played club rugby again, going back to where it all started. “I was so privileged to have shared the field with him in We won the Boland Championship that year and it will always be something so special for us. It will always be dear to my heart.”
Survived by his wife, Stephaney, and two young children, Hendricks has left a hole in the Wellington community that will never be filled.
“Cornal was a beacon of light in our community,” said Bailey. “Being the first Springbok to come out of our club in its 25-year history, the community was so fond and proud of him. He meant so much to us and he brought such hope and inspiration to the community. “He was a people’s person and was the epitome of working hard to achieve your goals. There were so many things that could have gone against him, but he decided to turn a blind eye on those circumstances.”
While he had not played any rugby for Boland in the last month – his heart condition had deteriorated to concerning levels and he was advised to stop – Hendricks was still in top shape up until the tragic end. “I saw him last week Sunday when we had our annual golf day for our rugby club,” said Bailey. “He was in a four-ball with Rudy Paige and Garth April, and I actually commented on his conditioning and told him he looked better than when he was at his prime playing for the Springboks. “He was in tip-top shape. I’ve never seen him in that kind of shape and that only added to the shock.”
It is one of the most unique, heart-wrenching stories in the history of South African rugby. A man who was told he couldn’t, and then did.
And while we will never see Cornal Hendricks stepping his way through a tackle ever again, with that upper-body strength and silky smooth hands putting runners away – his legacy in South Africa, and especially Wellington, is solidified.
“He will be remembered as a community activist, fighting for our community and trying to set himself as an example for the kids in an area where we already have so many socio-economic challenges,” said Bailey. “He proved that you can create something from nothing. “We had so much respect for Cornal and what he did. “When he came back to us in 2017, coming down from a professional level to an amateur level, that says a lot about his character. “He was a humble guy who always had a joke or two, no matter the circumstances. He was a leader.”
When asked by News24 for comment, Dr Basson responded: “His death had nothing to do with the fact that he played rugby”. Basson, who was nicknamed ‘Dr Death’ after his role as the head of the apartheid government’s secret chemical project in the 1980s, initially cleared Hendricks to play after his career had come to a halt because of the condition in 2016. Basson was found guilty on four counts of unprofessional and unethical conduct between 1981 and 1992. He currently practices as a cardiologist in Durbanville, Cape Town.
published by Lloyd Burnard – News24 Sport – 16 May 2025
