Rugby fans in South Africa woke up on Saturday morning with the shocking news of the tragic death of the Bulls and Springbok legend, Pedrie Wannenburg.

According to reports from Harris County in Houston (Texas) in America the county Sheriff said there was a high-speed chase of a vehicle, where a suspected teenaged driver had refused to pull over for police. According to reports, the chase sometimes reached 100 miles p/h. The car in which Wannenburg and his family travelled on the same route, was hit by the suspect vehicle.

Wannenburg apparently died instantly, while his son was taken by helicopter to a hospital in a critical condition with serious injuries where he had to undergo emergency surgery. Wannenburg’s wife, Evette, and daughter survived the crash with less serious injuries.

Pedrie Johannes Wannenburg was born on 2 January 1981 and already as a schoolboy at Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale in Riversdale, it was clear that he was destined to one day become a Springbok. After brilliant performances for the SWD Schools team at the Craven Week of 1999, he was contracted by the Blue Bulls.

He made his senior debut for the Blue Bulls at the age of 20 and also played his first SuperRugby match as a 21-year-old the following year.

Towards the end of that year (2002) he made his Springbok debut when he played his first Test against France on the year-end tour to Europe.

In 2002 he was also part of the Junior Springbok team that was crowned world champion that year. The team is coached by Jake White.

Wannenburg would continue to eventually play 20 Tests for the Springboks. However, he was one of those unlucky players who was never in action in a World Cup tournament. He was especially unfortunate in 2007 not to be part of Jake White’s champion team.

His omission from that 2007 World Cup champion team was slightly controversial, as White chose to pick the 31-year-old Bob Skinstad, to have more experience in the team. Skinstad retired from rugby two years earlier at 29, but made his return to the game that season.

In Pretoria Wannenburg became a Bulls legend and still holds the record for most consecutive SuperRugby matches (99) for this team.

He won three SuperRugby titles (2007, 2009 and 2010) with the Bulls and eventually played 114 games for the franchise.

As part of the Blue Bulls he also won the Currie Cup five times in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009.

After the 2010 SuperRugby tournament, Wannenburg left Pretoria to join Ulster in Ireland. Eventually, he played in 54 games for the Irish province in two seasons, before looking for new pastures in France.

Wannenburg, who was already married at the time and started with his family, eventually spent four seasons in France, where he first played 31 games for Castres and then 51 games for Oyonnax. He was part of the Castres team that won the French Top 14 league in 2013.

Towards the end of 2016, Wannenburg and his family decided to embark on a new adventure, when he became part of the then newly formed PRO Rugby League in America at the age of 35.

This adventure eventually became a permanent destination for the Wannenburg family. Pedrie acquired business interests in Texas, while during a few seasons after retiring from rugby he was also involved in coaching the Denver Stampede team, where he ended his career as a player.

Although this big ‘Boerseun’ from the Southern Cape (he stood 6 ft 5in or 1.96m in his socks) had a very successful rugby career, he probably never really reached his full potential. However, he was unfortunate to share a Springbok era – and compete – with legends such as Corné Krige, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Bobby Skinstad, Joe van Niekerk, Danie Rossouw, Wickus van Heerden and Jacques Cronjé.

Although in his younger days he was sometimes branded as a “naughty boy” in the media due to his lifestyle off the field, he made a total turnaround after leaving South Africa in 2010. He was outspoken about his conversion and Christianity and he lived for his young family.