Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom says he fought back after six men tried to hijack his vehicle in Pretoria on Monday.
Strydom, 49, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Little Company of Mary hospital in Groenkloof after surviving the attempted hijacking.
The incident occurred in Aries street in Pretoria’s Waterkloof Ridge suburb.
According to Strydom’s wife, Nikolie, the skull around his left eye socket was fractured after one of the hijackers threw a “rock”.
But the former Springbok and Golden Lions star has since recovered and was moved out of ICU on Tuesday afternoon.
Sport24
Strydom, nowadays a pharmacist, recalled the events.
“It was around 15:00. I was on my way to one of my pharmacies in Irene when I saw three men standing in front of me in the street. One indicated for me to stop. I thought something was wrong so I slowed down. The next moment a massive rock flew through the window on the passenger side. The second one hit me on the left side of the head.”
Strydom then got out of his car, before the hijackers took his keys and attacked him further. However, they retreated when the former Springbok fought back.
“I screamed loudly: ‘God help me, God help me!’ Then they got bewildered and ran away.”
During the scuffle, one of the robbers stabbed him in the shoulder blade with either a knife or screwdriver. The robbers took off with Strydom’s car keys before he called a friend, Riaan van Zyl, who brought the spare keys. Strydom then drove himself to hospital.
Strydom played his provincial rugby for the Golden Lions, while he was also a member of the victorious Springbok team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
He played 21 Tests for the Springboks between 1993 and 1997.
Damn glad he’s OK… not good when in supposedly SAFE neighbourhoods, this kind of thing happens.
On the lighter side, old Hannes looks like a Russian Mafia Hitman in the pic… hehehe
Was really not nice to read about this attack on Hannes Strydom hope he continues to recover ok.
Even worse to read now about Argentinian footballer killed after a game:
“Argentine football player Franco Nieto, 33, has died after being struck in the head following a match on Saturday.
Nieto, the captain of regional club Tiro Federal, was attacked by hooligans after a match against rivals Chacarita Juniors in the town of Aimogasta, in north-west Argentina.
The match was stopped 15 minutes before full time after the referee sent off eight players for fighting.
This year, 15 people have died in football-related violence in Argentina
Nieto’s cousin, Pablo Nieto, said three people surrounded the player as he was going to his car with his wife and one-month-old daughter.
They kicked and punched him before one of the attackers struck Nieto in the head with a stone, leaving him unconscious.
He was operated on on Tuesday but died on Wednesday.
Local police chief Fabian Bordon told local media that three people had been detained in connection with the attack.
Football violence is a huge problem in Argentina.
According to the NGO Salvemos el Futbol (Let’s Save Football), deaths caused by football-related violence have tripled in 2014.
The main culprits are the so-called Barras Bravas, gangs of radical supporters who control the terraces and the streets around the stadiums.”
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