Jantjies: from No 10 to zero?

THE news about Elton Jantjies that broke on Sunday remains shocking, no matter how it gets depicted, argued and framed in the daysto come.

The Springbok allegedly had an “outburst” – several witness accounts state it was more violent than that – on board an Emirates flight from Dubai.

Jantjies subsequently appeared in the Kempton Magistrate’s Court on Monday, on charges of malicious damage to property and contravening the Civil Aviation Act.

They are reportedly relatively minor charges, and it is possibly that an out of court settlement will be made between the aggrieved parties, which would save Jantjies’ career.

I want to make clear I am a massive Jantjies fan. When the vitriol around the Springbok flyhalf reached fever pitch, I stood steadfast in my belief he is one of the best No 10s in the country and every opportunity that has been afforded him, was duly earned.

Moreover, if there is even an inkling of truth to the report the incident involved the traumatising of a flight attendant, and as we await his day in court, then SA Rugby must act now and suspend Jantjies from participation with the Boks this season, until he is found either innocent or guilty.

Jacques Nienaber is set to announce his squad for a three-Test series against Wales on Saturday, and if there is even a smidgen of truth that Jantjies harassed, chased down, banged on the water closet of the plane, blooding his fist in the process, while saying “Komaan, my skat (Come on, my darling)”, then the union must act swiftly.

In a country where gender-based violence runs rampant, we, as a society, must strike at it at every moment, and hold accountable those who perpetrate it, until proved otherwise.