Cheetahs flank Gerhard Olivier has announced his retirement from professional rugby with immediate effect. 

Oliver sustained a neck injury during the PRO14 match against the Dragons in Wales earlier this year and has been advised to hang up his boots on medical grounds.

“I injured my neck 15 minutes into the last game that we played in the PRO14. It was against the Dragons. I was tackled from behind and I was kind of pegged head first in the ground. I kept on playing, but the neck injury was way worse than what we expected.” Olivier said. 

“I expected to make a full recovery being back in training with the boys now. With a mindset where you think everything is fine, then it is not, is pretty devastating."

The 27-year-old made 53 appearances for the Cheetahs and made his Super Rugby debut against the Waratahs in 2015 off the bench. 

He was part of the Shimlas team which won the Varsity Cup in 2015 and proved himself worthy by coming through the ranks. 

Sadly, his career was plagued with a serious ankle injury which saw him miss a lot of rugby over the next two years. 

Olivier bounced back to establish himself as the first-choice flank during the 2018/19 PRO14 season and was among the leading defenders in the competition.

“I would say that the 2015 Varsity Cup was pretty special. Going unbeaten and smashing everyone was great. A lot of our friends came through that season, and in the same year we also all played in the Vodacom Cup, Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. So, it was a big year for us to break the mould and started playing good rugby. That was definitely the best year for me. Playing in Ireland in the first PRO14 games was also a highlight.

“Winning the Currie Cup in 2019 was great, I loved that. The first three games of the PRO14 were great when we smashed three teams that we’d never been able to beat before.”