Jantjies’ Wife Slams Springboks Management Amid Scandal

Elton Jantjies’ wife Iva has hit out at the Springboks management as she opened up on allegations her husband was having an affair with the team dieti­tian.

Father of three Jantjies and Boks dietitian Zeenat Simjee were sent back to South Africa from Buenos Aires after a South African Sunday newspaper broke a story alleging an affair between them during the recent series against the All Blacks.

South African Rugby’s response hasn’t been taken well by Iva.

“The Springbok management are aware of reports regard­ing Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies and team dietitian Zeenat Simjee between the training camp in Sabie and the test match against New Zealand in Mbombela earlier this year,” SA Rugby said in a statement.

“No team protocols were breached, but the individuals are returning to South Africa to attend to these personal re­ports and to eliminate any distractions to the team’s prepa­rations for the test against Argentina.”

In an exclusive interview with News24 in South Africa, Iva said she was shocked by “how lightly this has been taken”.

“This is very concerning for all the Springbok wives as none of us was aware that this behaviour is actually not breaking any rules, and it’s taken so lightly,” she said.

“It’s very disappointing for a World Cup-winning manage­ment to allow situations like this to be created inside the team environment.”

Iva told News24 she had been shocked by the allegations.

“We have been together since 2014 and had our ups and downs like every other couple.

“I have always been there to support him through good and bad times, and I still am.

“When we met, he was not even part of the Bok squad, we worked really hard for him to achieve his goals and dreams. [I] sacrificed so many things, including my career and my dreams,” she said.

“We have been together for almost a decade. We will always have love for each other, and we will always be a unit. We have three beautiful children that love him uncondition­ally.”

However, she added that she would “probably not” stay ro­mantically involved with Jantjies.

She said Jantjies had denied the allegations, and he was expected to return to their home in Japan next week. Jantjies, a 2019 World Cup winner, plays in Japan for the Red Hurricanes.

“We are speaking all the time. He is very disappointed. I think it’s also good for him to distance himself from the Bok squad and process everything,” Iva said.

She had received many messages of support “and I will be forever grateful for that.”

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