Recently retired Springbok winger Raymond Rhule admits frustration pushed him to leave the Republic and ply his trade in France.
Rhule, who won the 2012 Junior World Championship alongside the likes of Steven Kitshoff and Handre Pollard, made seven appearances for the Boks in 2017 before leaving the Stormers to join Grenoble in 2018.
He moved to La Rochelle two years later, where he made 83 appearances for the club and won back-to-back Investec Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023.
The two-time European cup champion was last week forced into early retirement by a long-term injury and speaking to Rapport, Rhule revealed that feeling undervalued by fans and national selectors led him to seek a fresh start.
“From the point of view of the supporters, as well as that of the national selectors, I wasn’t really looked at [as a contender],” he said. “It takes a toll on you psychologically, because you know what you can do and what you’re doing.
MORE: Lions, Ellis Park lose long-time sponsor
“But when everyone focuses more on your shortcomings than what you bring to the team, it’s hard to do your job every week.”
The 32-year-old said moving overseas gave his career a second wind: “The nice thing about the French is they give you a fresh start. The French don’t focus on what you can’t do. They focus more on what you can do.”
Rhule later joined La Rochelle, where he became a key part of a golden era, helping the club to two Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023. “We played in five out of six possible finals in three seasons. That’s not bad at all. It was three dream years,” he said.
A starter in the Top 14 final defeat against Toulouse in 2023, Rhule suffered a series of injuries, notably to his knee and Achilles, playing just two matches in a year and a half.
“It was a very difficult decision [to retire]. I’m not going to lie,” he said. “But the one thing you learn is when your body says no, you have to live with it and you can’t fight it anymore.”
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
The post Rhule: It was hard to do my job in SA appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Recently retired Springbok winger Raymond Rhule admits frustration pushed him to leave the Republic and ply his trade in France.
The post Rhule: It was hard to do my job in SA appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
