Bulls CEO on mental health support plans after Nkosi's disappearance: 'It's a wake-up call'

Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone said Sbu Nkosi's disappearance due to mental health struggles, induced by pressures of playing rugby at the high end, was "a wake-up call for all sports".

Nkosi went "missing" for three weeks after failing to report for training on Monday, 14 November.

The Bulls solicited police assistance to find him, opening a missing persons file with the SAPS before Rathbone and Bulls' security sponsor SSG combined to locate him in Emalahleni after following various tip-offs.

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Nkosi told News24 he'd been battling mentally and needed a break from the game, which is why he was holed up at his father's house in Mpumalanga with nobody else able to reach him.

Rathbone said there were existing structures to help players in a similar position as the World Cup-winning Springbok but perhaps they needed to be amped up.

"There are fantastic support structures in plans through MyPlayers and even us at the Bulls with our own team psychologists," Rathbone told media on Tuesday.

"But I think this is just a wake-up call for everyone in sports again. In the space of 12 months, we’ve seen Michael Hooper withdrawing and Ben Stokes.

"I think this is a reality of professional sport. These are not machines; they're human beings. There's tremendous pressure on a day-to-day basis on them to perform.

"It's a wake-up call for all sports."

Rugby players' association MyPlayers are known to have workshops with players where they encourage them to speak out if they are battling with the pressures of being professional athletes.

But, for Nkosi, who made an attempt to raise his issues with the Bulls before going AWOL, these did not appear enough.

Rathbon