Rassie’s daughter to Andre-Hugo Venter: ‘Nobody deserves it more’
Rassie Erasmus’s daughter has congratulated Andre-Hugo Venter on his debut for the Springboks against Portugal this weekend.
Andre Hugo-Venter – who is dating coach Rassie Erasmus’s daughter Nikki – will be making his Springbok debut on Saturday, 20 July, against Portugal.
The Stormers star is one of several uncapped players named in the squad this week.
The match will take place at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
RASSIE’S DAUGHTER SHOW LOVE TO ANDRE-HUGO VENTER
On Instagram, Carli Erasmus, the daughter of Rassie Erasmus and twin sister of Nikki, congratulated Andre-Hugo Venter on his upcoming Springbok debut.
“No one deserves it more than you,” the pretty blonde posted.
Andre-Hugo – who was invited to a Springbok alignment camp earlier this year – has been dating Nikki for several years.
Like the rugby player, Nikki and her family also hail from Bloemfontein and moved to Cape Town to further their studies. The son of former Springbok Hugo Venter is a student at Stellenbosch, where he is studying towards a Bcomm in Management and Accounting.
Rassie Erasmus and Hugo Venter are also good friends, having played in the Springboks squad together.
NO PRESSURE TO PLAY
Speaking to Rugby World, Andre-Hugo Venter said he felt “no pressure” to play by his rugby hero dad, Hugo Venter.
He said: “While he’s never put any pressure on me to be a rugby player, he’s always pushed me to excel at academics.
“That’s the standard he sets: whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. And know that it can all be taken away in an instant.”
However, it seems that Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus may be applying the pressure instead.
Rassie said following the announcement of the new-look squad: “This match is an opportunity for us to work on what went wrong last week [loss to Ireland] and finish the Incoming Series on a high note. So we will treat them and the occasion with the respect it deserves.”
Rassie also congratulated Andre-Hugo on being the 16th father-son duo in the Springboks.
NEWBIES ON THE PITCH
Apart from Andre-Hugo Venter, other uncapped players making their debut on the pitch against Portugal include Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ruan Venter, Morne van den Berg, Quan Horn, Phepsi Buthelezi and Johan Grobbelaar.
Interestingly, seven players in the Springbok squad have under ten caps, including captain Salmaan Moerat.
The Stormers captain debuted for the Boks in 2022 and made two appearances that year.
He was called up again in 2024 when the Boks played Wales in Twickenham in June. He also featured in the squad that played Ireland in both Pretoria and Durban earlier this month.
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