Time of the Jay-Jays in the green and gold

WHEN Brian Hendrikse suddenly passed away from a heart attack on 29 June 2023, his younger son had just turned 23, the day before. At the time, Jordan was a flyhalf at the Golden Lions in Johannesburg.

He didn't get many playing opportunities since the first-choice flyhalf, Sanele Nohamba, had a brilliant season and was eventually named the United Rugby Championship (URC) Player of the Season.

Just a year later, Jordan's disappointing season with the Golden Lions was a thing of the past. He was chosen to play for the Springboks against Wales on June 22 and made a satisfactory debut. Shortly after, he was contracted by the Sharks, where his older brother by a year, Jaden, is already a legend at scrumhalf.

It didn't take Jordan long to earn his credentials in Durban. On September 21, at a foggy Kings Park, he was handed the ball after the siren had gone to indicate time was up, to send a 59 m penalty kick through the posts to win the trophy for his new team. When he placed the ball, the score was Golden Lions 14 – the Sharks 13.

Exactly two months later, he's playing in his second test match, this time alongside his brother in the starting line-up. The last time two brothers appeared together for the Springboks was Dan and Robert du Preez against Wales in Washington in 2018, and the last time two brothers started together was Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis in the 2015 World Cup against Scotland in Newcastle.

As one would expect from someone who can kick so far, Jordan is a big guy for a flyhalf – 1,86 m tall and weighing 90 kg. He had a good, though not the best, goal-kicking percentage last URC season, just under 76%. However, it's his defence that makes people take notice. He attempted by far the most tackles of any South African flyhalf or scrumhalf in the competition, with 147, and importantly, he successfully executed 94% of those tackles, a stunning percentage.

He reminds one of another Sharks legend – Henry Honniball. A big, strong flyhalf who could kick very far, kick accurately at goal, and tackle the living daylights out of you.

Brian Hendrikse had the privilege of seeing his other son, Jaden, make his Springbok debut as scrumhalf after he first played in 2021 against Argentina – his test debut was marked by scoring a try and then having to leave the field with a serious leg injury that kept him on the sidelines for almost a year.

With a shoulder injury just before last year's World Cup, and his father's death, his World Cup chances were almost derailed, but he recovered from the injury in time and has now played in 19 test matches.

Jaden is not as big as his brother (1,84 m and 87 kg), which is probably why he opted for scrumhalf after they had attended primary school at Dale College – he was initially a flyhalf and inside centre. The two boys went to Glenwood High School in Durban where they both played Craven Week provincial rugby and for the SA Schools u/18 team.

The Hendrikse brothers say they are close friends and understand each other instinctively on the field. The coach, Rassie Erasmus, says he enjoys giving the two brothers a chance, but there's no sentiment involved – they have to perform!

If you're struggling to remember which name belongs to whom, just remember that the one with the more modern hairstyle, Jordan, has the more traditional name, while the one with the hairstyle of one of Jesus's lesser-known disciples, Philip maybe, has the more modern name – Jaden.

Enjoy the test!

♦ VWB ♦

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION: Go to the bottom of this page to share your opinion. We look forward to hearing from you