#TheWink! Bok star causes major divide
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT: Springbok star Jaden Hendrikse has been the hot topic in the wake of the Sharks’ dramatic penalty shootout against Munster on Saturday at Kings Park.
In very unusual circumstances on Saturday, the Sharks progressed to the semifinal after beating Munster in a penalty shootout.
The teams were deadlocked at 24-24 after an intense 100 minutes of rugby in Durban, leading to the quarterfinal being decided by a place-kicking competition.
Jaden Hendrikse, his brother Jordan, and Bradley Davids were the kickers for the Sharks, while Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, and Rory Scannell were the men under pressure for Munster.
The Sharks nailed all six of their shots from various positions around the field, while a solitary miss by Scannell spelt the end of Munster’s campaign.
However, the shootout was marred by controversy, with Jaden Hendrikse at the centre of it all.
Midway through the shootout, after his second successful kick, Jaden Hendrikse went down complaining of a cramp.
But by getting treated for cramp by the Sharks’ physios in the middle of the pitch, he delayed Crowley, who had to take a kick from the same position.
The action of Jaden was questioned by Crowley.
TV cameras also caught Hendrikse winking at an infuriated Crowley, who nailed his kick before telling a Sharks staff member to ‘*** off’ as they finally left the field.
The incident has caused a massive stir in the rugby fraternity, with some fans calling it unsportsmanlike behaviour and others labelling it hilarious.
Rugby365’s readers also voiced their respective opinions.
Commenting on the match reports, AlwaysConfused revealed that it was hilarious and ‘his cramps were real’.
In contrast, Slim182 stated it was ‘unbecoming of a Springbok’.
On social media, Pearse O Donnell revealed that the conduct leaves a bad taste and compared Jaden to Brazilian football star Neymar.
Former Munster player Barry Murphy added his voice to the debate: “Jaden Hendrikse is my least favourite rugby player that has ever played the game of rugby. Like and share if you agree.”
I don’t like what Hendrikse is doing here – I’ve made that patently clear. But the hypocrisy doing the rounds is next level.
— A-P (@rugby_ap) June 1, 2025
For every photo of the wink it’s also fair to show one of the cramp.
He played it up. He’s tried to get in Munster’s head in a way that is unnecessary and I think deeply unsportsmanlike.
But we can’t pick and choose when to want ‘characters’ and when not. pic.twitter.com/vzebXxN3qJ
— A-P (@rugby_ap) June 1, 2025
Rugby needs heroes and villains and people talking about it.. so I actually wish that moment was even more high profile.
Jaden Hendrikse played his part, love it or hate it pic.twitter.com/lss2MhVRbU
— Grant Constable (@GrantConstable) May 31, 2025
