John Goliath sat down with Blitzboks legend and Stormers flyer Seabelo Senatla.

Image: IOL

Watching Seabelo Senatla string together consecutive matches for the Stormers this season, punctuated by a celebratory flick-flack as a tribute to the past, it is easy to forget just how close the Blitzboks legend came to never walking again, let alone gracing a rugby pitch.

Following a devastating 2023 car accident that left his playing future hanging by a thread, Senatla’s return to peak fitness and playing with a smile on his face has been nothing short of miraculous.

Even if his celebratory gymnastics, performed as a tribute to Springbok and Stormers icon Breyton Paulse while playing in the iconic black jersey, gave the Stormers' medical staff a minor heart attack, he felt it prudent to doff his cap to the legend.

"Hey man, I got a lot of flak for that, not from the guys, everybody loved it, except our teamdoctor," Senatla laughed, recalling the reaction after he broke his back in the crash only to launch himself into a backflip during a string of games this season.

"We have to honour the past, man, and it was just my nod and a tip of the hat to Breyton. Everybody loved it, and I think the rest of the rugby world did too. It was such a cool moment."

Yet, sitting inside his newly opened retail space, Glory Garb, at the Woodstock Exchange in Cape Town, it becomes clear that the resilience that drove his comeback on the grass after a 19-month absence is the exact same force powering a thriving entrepreneurial empire off it.

Falling Back in Love with the Game

During his long road back to the Stormers in December 2024, Senatla endured a period where injury-ravaged campaigns and the rigid tactical demands of the 15-man code threatened to extinguish his spark.

After moving into the 15s space following a legendary Sevens career with the Blitzboks, Senatla got to a stage where he wasn’t really enjoying his rugby. It felt more like a job, and less like a passion.

Seabelo Senatla performing a backflip in front of a packed DHL Stadium in the URC game against the Sharks.

Image: Stormers Rugby

"There was a point where I didn't really enjoy my rugby, man. I won't lie to you, it became a job," Senatla admitted candidly. "Partly because of how I was expected to play, it was quite rigid, and I'm a very fluid and instinctive player. When you do that, you take away my superpower."

Determined to reclaim his joy after fighting his way back from the brink in 2023, the 33-year-old made a conscious decision to reconnect with his roots, going back to that kid from the Free State mining town of Welkom who played for the love of the game.

"I've been very intentional. I want to feel like a kid again. I want to play rugby because I enjoy it," he explained.

"I want to be that fellow back in Welkom who just played because he loved the game, with no stress in the world. Because the reason I play rugby is because I love it."

That renewed freedom mirrors the culture fostered by Stormers director of rugby John Dobson, whose emphasis on individuality has allowed one of Cape Town’s favourite flyers to flourish once more.

"Everybody is free to be ourselves," Senatla noted. "We understand that power comes in diversity. If you're free outside of the field, you'll be very free on the inside as well."

From Welkom to Winemaking and Fashion: Building the Glory Brand

Senatla’s refusal to be boxed into a single identity started long before his accident. Having cut his teeth in the conservative environment of South African rugby in the Free State, his flamboyant dress sense and curiosity often set him apart, a role he embraced wholeheartedly.

For Senatla, becoming a winemaker and fashion retailer was also about setting himself up for a career after rugby. Too many top players in the country don’t look beyond the game and struggle financially after the bright lights fade. It’s why Senatla has turned his hobbies into a fledgling business.

"I am very comfortable being an outsider. I don't mind standing alone so long," Senatla said. "Rugby is one facet, one room, but there's a whole lot of spaces within myself.

"I've seen previous cases where players stopped playing rugby and there was nothing, which is really sad. I don't want to be a stat."

That foresight birthed his lifestyle brand, Glory, a name rooted deeply in his Christian faith and the belief that everything he creates is an expression of his purpose.

What began as a celebratory venture into winemaking during his Sevens days in Stellenbosch evolved into an intricate passion for viticulture and storytelling, before naturally progressing into bespoke apparel.

Today, his Woodstock Exchange store showcases earth-toned garments crafted from natural linens and cottons, alongside his signature flat caps, a subtle nod to traditional coming-of-age symbolism.

Surviving the COVID Storm

Building a business from scratch also required the exact same grit that carried him through hospital rehabilitation. Launching a wine label in late 2019, mere months before the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the hospitality and alcohol industries, tested his resolve to the absolute limit.

"I couldn't have chosen a worse time," Senatla laughed, reflecting on the alcohol bans of 2020. "We lived through all of that and now look at us, we have a physical shop and clothes. All of that doesn't come just because of magic. You have someone behind that brand that carries a certain principle."

For Senatla, setbacks, whether a global pandemic halting a fledgling business or a near-fatal crash halting a decorated career, are simply obstacles waiting to be cleared.

"Resilience is a huge part of it," he reflected. "I'm just persistent. If I want something, I'm persistently going to go at it. Be it failing or challenges, I don't see those things as stops, just hurdles to jump over."

With his body firing on all cylinders for the Stormers and his Glory brand firmly planted in the heart of Cape Town’s creative hub, Seabelo Senatla is no longer just surviving the hurdles. He is clearing them with style.