Springboks fly-half Elton Jantjies detained by police in South Africa

South African fly-half Elton Jantjies was detained in Johannesburg and charged with causing malicious damage to property.

South Africa's Elton Jantjies during the Rugby World Cup 2019. Photo by Ashley Western/MB Media/Getty Images

Rugby World Cup-winning South Africa fly-half Elton Jantjies was detained on Sunday in Johannesburg and charged with causing malicious damage to property, a police spokesman said.

The 31-year-old understudy to Handre Pollard, who has played 41 times for the Springboks, allegedly damaged property of an airline he had flown with from Dubai to Johannesburg.

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Police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe confirmed that Jantjies was detained after arriving in South Africa and later released on AU$89 bail.

“The SAPS (South African Police Service) can confirm that the 31-year-old man who was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport for malicious damage to property has been released on bail,” she said.

Elton Jantjies during the Rugby World Cup 2019. Photo by Ashley Western/MB Media/Getty Images

An airport official familiar with the arrest confirmed to AFP that the 31-year-old was Jantjies, a member of the squad that won the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

He is expected to appear at a magistrate’s court on Monday in a suburb close to the airport were he was held.

Jantjies made his professional debut in 2011 with the Johannesburg-based Lions and was loaned to French Top 14 club Pau in 2021 before joining Japanese outfit NTT Red Hurricanes this year.

— AFP

Originally published as Springboks fly-half Elton Jantjies detained by police in South Africa