Carlu Sadie’s sensational return: From career threatening injury to the Springboks

It will be an incredible moment for Carlu Sadie when he makes his official Springbok debut, which will likely happen within the next month, after he suffered a life and career threatening injury at the start of last year.

Sadie made his first appearance for the Boks over the past weekend, when he started in their match against the invitational Barbarians in Gqeberha, but it was a non-Test encounter.

He thus still has to wait for his first Bok cap, but it should arrive sooner rather than later, after he was named in the Springbok squad for their first four games of the season.

The Boks will take on England, Scotland and Wales in a home run of Nations Championship games in July, followed by a one-off Test against Los Pumas in Argentina at the start of August, following which another squad will be named for their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.

Tough competition

Sadie will be competing for a spot as one of the Boks’ tighthead props in the match 23, against the likes of Wilco Louw, Thomas du Toit and Zachary Porthen.

Louw is likely to be the Boks’ first-choice at tighthead, while Du Toit will swap between tighthead and loosehead.

Sadie could thus have a chance of turning out for the Boks against England at Ellis Park, or against Scotland at Loftus, but the most likely scenario would see him make his official debut either against Wales at Kings Park, or away against Argentina.

The fact that he is actually in the frame to represent the Boks is a miracle in itself, after he suffered the same injury that ended Bok legend Steven Kitshoff’s career, in a match for Bordeaux Begles against Lyon in January 2025, with a doctor telling him at the time that he was two millimetres from death.

Sadie, 29, had just signed a long-term contract with the Bulls and was set to return to South Africa, having represented the Lions and Sharks previously before moving to France, but that move then fell apart.

Amazingly however, Bordeaux and their coach Yannick Bru, who had initially lured Sadie over to France, showed incredible belief in the prop being able to recover by buying him out of his Bulls contract, and after eight months of intense rehab he returned to action.

Speaking ahead of the Boks’ game against the BaaBaas last week, Sadie said he was extremely grateful for that belief shown in him by the franchise and his wife Naritha for getting him through that massively tough period.

Things didn’t look good

“Unfortunately, in my second year at Bordeaux, I broke my neck, the same [injury as] as Kitshoff. The ligaments at C1 and C2 tore during a match. Things didn’t look very good then, but Bordeaux said they would look after me and make sure I got back onto the field. I’m very grateful for that,” said Sadie.

“They gave me the platform and said, ‘You are going to work hard, make sure you do all your rehabilitation and stay positive about everything you do.’

“To be here with the Springboks is a dream come true. I never expected it. The most important thing was just getting back onto the field.”

Now being a part of the Bok environment and taking part in their infamous scrum sessions with scrum coach Daan Human, Sadie believes he can continue going from strength to strength and become an even better player in the future.

“I’d heard a lot of stories about the Springboks’ scrum sessions, but this was the first chance I got to be part of one myself. I can definitely say it’s no joke. I would say they push you to your limit. The first session we did lasted a bit longer than I expected,” said Sadie.

“When I stood up, the world suddenly went dark and Siya [Kolisi] grabbed me and asked if I was OK. I told him, ‘Yes, let’s do it again’. Working with Daan and the group definitely makes you better and tougher.

“It really is as intense as people told me. I’m looking forward to growing even more and taking my scrummaging to the next level.”