'Big brother' Hendricks back to his roots

SPOTLIGHT: Cornal Hendricks thought he would be fine saying goodbye – but when he stepped into the changeroom and looked at his Bulls teammates, and his coach Jake White, Hendricks remembered that when doctors told him his career was over because his heart couldn’t handle it, this team gave him back his rugby heart.

“I kept it cool for a while, but then it became very emotional for me,” Hendricks says of that final speech to his teammates. “I’ve come full circle.”

Hendricks’ decision in October 2024 to leave the Bulls and return to the Boland Cavaliers where he started his career was never going to be an easy one to make, but the former Springbok knew it was the right one, and the right time to make it.

It’s easy to understand why players who’ve been part of great teams get emotional when they leave, but in the case of Hendricks, there’s more to it.

This was the team that took him in when his career seemed over because of a 2015 medical diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition that doctors were concerned would cause him to suffer cardiac arrest on the field.

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This was also the team that was filled with youngsters when he joined them, and which he saw become men.

“After my three-year absence from the game I never thought I’d be back playing at the highest level in a new global competition like the United Rugby Championship.

“It’s been so exciting for me. The level of rugby and the intensity of it has been very good for me. I can now teach the younger players what it takes to get to that level, and the intensity of playing the game at that speed.”

But it’s the role he played off the field which has brought the greatest satisfaction to Hendricks, and which he is keen to continue playing at Boland.

“I’ve experienced so much with the Bulls. Seeing Embrose [Papier] and Stedman [Gans] getting married.

“David [Kriel] was a youngster when he came to the Bulls. Kurt-Lee [Arendse] was a youngster. Canan [Moodie] was a schoolboy. Keegan Johannes was a youngster. So experiencing those players moving into the senior roles in the team has made me very proud as a kind of big brother.

“All the advice I gave them. Those are the things I learnt from a Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen.

“For me now, leaving is knowing that all those players are doing well now. They are the next generation that needs to teach the youngsters behind them.

“I’m so proud of them for the men they’ve become. Obviously I’ll miss the union and the people there – that’s always the saddest part.

“But I know they’re in good hands. I’m happy knowing they’re going to be okay. I started my career at the Boland Cavaliers in 2008, and now I’m back on home soil again. I’ll never forget my time at the Bulls, but I’m also looking forward to the future.”

Returning to Wellington has certainly brought back memories for Hendricks, of a young boy growing up with a single mom who simply wanted to be like his brother.

“I grew up in Payton Place in Wellington. In 2006 I was still in school and played third team for the club. My brother played first team for Roses United, and he was my hero.

“As a youngster all you want to do is follow the footsteps of your brother, or your father. He took me to his matches and training every day, and it inspired me to play there one day.

“I was raised by a single mom, but she raised us to have the same self-belief as the kids from the big schools. She taught us to have the discipline to work hard and believe in yourself.

“When I started going into professional rugby, she was my motivation and my ‘why’. It was to give her a better life. It was hard for her, but there was never a time where I felt like I didn’t have the best from her.

“I want to continue with that journey, and I tell the youngsters at Boland that you need to find the ‘why’ of why you’re playing rugby.”

Hendricks will look back on so many highlights with the Vodacom Bulls, but it is one particular match that stands out for him.

The 2021 Currie Cup Final, where after 100 minutes they had beaten the Sharks 26-19.

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Hendricks was voted the Player of the Match, but that has nothing to do with why this game remains such a special memory for him.

“In the changeroom afterwards we were all hugging each other.

“I just remember the look in everyone’s eyes, and the love for each other.

“The Sharks pushed us all the way and it was a tough Final.

“We were tired, but looking into each other’s eyes, it was that feeling of, ‘I know you had me all along, brother’. That’s the best thing for me. I mean, that’s job done.”

Job done.

Now onto the next chapter.