Cameron Hanekom's performance off the bench — or rather, from an unplanned starting berth — against England on Saturday carried far more weight than the match stats alone suggest. When Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth were ruled out shortly before kick-off, the Bulls loose forward was drafted into the starting XV at blindside flank, with Pieter-Steph du Toit shifting to lock and assuming the captaincy.
Playing out of position against England, Hanekom delivered a composed shift: 11 tackles, one linebreak and three defenders beaten from eight carries. It was his second Springbok cap.
The first came before a hamstring injury during the Bulls' URC semifinal against the Sharks in Pretoria left him fearing his career was finished. An innocuous cleanout by Kolisi tore Hanekom's hamstring badly enough that, in his own words, he immediately believed he would never play again.
"Getting injured in that semifinal, I basically thought my career was over. That's how it felt back then," the 23-year-old said this week. "It was heartbreaking. I was still a youngster trying to climb through the ranks and getting opportunities, and I was hoping to get back into the Springbok setup at that time. To have it taken away in one cleanout was quite hard to take."
The Ceres-born flanker spent months in rehabilitation and acknowledges the hamstring still causes him daily discomfort. He credits the experience with sharpening him mentally.
"Going through the rehab with bumps and bruises, some good days and some bad days, I just started getting stronger mentally," he said. "I learned how important it is to keep fighting through everything and, every time you get knocked down, just get back up."