If you can no longer play rugby, what do you do instead? Become the World’s Strongest Man? Yep, that’ll do.
What sounds like a rather far-fetched dream was reality for former Free State Cheetahs player, Rayno Nel, who took up Strongman just two years ago. At the end of May, his incredible rise culminated in winning the 2025 World’s Strongest Man competition.
When we sat down with him on Monday, his joy was clear. Smiling through the camera from his home in South Africa, the giant athlete could not be happier to share with us his journey from professional rugby player to World’s Strongest Man.
Built for strength: A natural fit for strongman
Weighing 326 pounds and standing at 6’3″, Nel only started competing in strongman competitions in 2023 when he emerged victorious in his first-ever showing at South Africa’s Strongest Man.
His rapid rise in the sport earned him a wildcard invite to the World’s. Despite still being classed as a ‘rookie’, Nel secured the win with just half a point to spare over his nearest rival.
Winning the global competition on his debut was no small feat; in fact, he even broke further records, including being the first man from outside Europe or North America to take the title in the competition’s 48-year history.
The support in South Africa
It hasn’t been long since he won the world title, but his success back home has been greatly received.
“South Africa is an amazing place,” Nel enthused. I can honestly say it’s like people take this victory as their own. I don’t think I would have even had close to the response if I were from any other country.”
Overwhelmed by the incredible response, the 30-year-old has received plenty of messages from friends, family, former rugby teammates, and even a couple of Springbok legends.
Recalling one of the nicest surprises, his rugby hero, the great Jerome Kaino, took the time to send him a video message of congratulations.
Making the most of his huge success, Nel also paraded the WSM trophy around Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, ahead of the Bulls’ impressive victory over Edinburgh.
What’s next for Rayno Nel
After winning the WSM competition, he would be excused for having time to relax and enjoy his success. But that simply won’t be the case with his calendar having been organised well in advance.
“I’m flying out on Wednesday to Europe again to compete this weekend and next. If I knew before [the WSM] that I would have won, I might have scheduled it a bit differently,” he said with a smile.
“I don’t get to rest, but in all honesty, I love what I do, so I’m excited to go and compete again.”
His journey through rugby
So, how did this success come about? First, we have to look at his history as an athlete, in particular, his rugby career.
He played in the Currie Cup in the U19s and the U21s circuit for a couple of years before going on to captain his Varsity Cup team.
Sadly for Nel, he suffered a nasty knee injury in his final year of university. Once he had recovered from injury, the Free State Cheetahs came calling, convincing him to play one season for them in the Challenge Cup.
Speaking about his enjoyment on the rugby field, the former flanker said: “I’d prefer more ball carrying than tackling, but I like the part of rugby where it’s not the flashy stuff. So I really like mauls, and I was our lineout specialist, so I really like lineouts, so that’s the part of rugby that I enjoy the most.
“I’m a bit of a stereotypical South African forward,” he joked.
Unfortunately for Nel, his rugby playing days were limited: “I played that season, and it was at that point I had to make a bitter career decision for me because I really started doing well at work.”
Thinking about his career as an electrical engineer, and considering that his rugby career could be over so quickly with another injury, Nel chose to let his rugby dream go, saying that it “felt like the most logical or the most responsible” thing to do at the time.
“I really regretted it. I missed rugby a lot. I thought I’d made a mistake. So that’s where I decided, a couple of years later, that I needed to do a competitive sport.
“Rugby is so professional. If you miss out on a couple of years, it’s not like you can just start again and then get a contract. So, strongman was the next best thing for me. Just over 2 1/2 years ago, I started the strongman.”
The transition from rugby to World’s Strongest Man
“I really went all in my career [as an electrical engineer], I worked long hours. I worked a lot of the time, pulled all-nighters. So I wasn’t in the best shape. I wasn’t in bad shape, but it wasn’t like I was in the gym constantly. I would be one or two times a week in the gym and just have short sessions.
“So when I decided to do strongman, I needed to start from scratch again. Well, I needed to undo almost three years of not being healthy,” he said with a smirk on his face.
“It’s a lot different. You can’t really compare the training with rugby. Strongman – you do extremely heavy weights, but you do it at short bursts, so it’s a lot of max attempts.
“My body weight is around 30/40 kg heavier than where I was in rugby, so now I’m a lot bigger.”
How rugby helps him compete
“I think it helps that I have a rugby background, and you always know that, irrespective of the score, you have to still compete.
“It’s quite the same, because if you make a mistake like I did in the last day, where I almost lost my entire lead, I knew there was a chance, and I don’t get ahead of myself too much.
“Rugby, you have that part where you can be dominated physically, but you must also be switched on mentally. That’s something that’s translated very well for me to Strongman.
“You must focus on competing and doing your best, but there are some tactics to play in it. Don’t get overhyped, reserve some energy.
“So, I think rugby helped me become a better athlete in Strongman, rather than just being a strong guy lifting weights and doing stupid stuff and jeopardising my own competition.”
Goal setting
Remarkably, it was Nel’s first effort at the top competition, a point that makes the victory ever more impressive.
“This was my first year competing in World Strongest Man, and my first competing at the absolute highest level in the sport. I set myself a goal. I want to win the World’s Strongest Man in 2027.
“Which I can say now, if I said it before, people would have thought that I’m an arrogant guy, but that was the goal that I set for myself.”
His final message to South Africans
Despite having the world at his feet, or the ‘atlas stone in his hands’ as it were, Nel remains incredibly humble, wishing to use his success to benefit his country and those in it. When asked what message he would like to put out, he chose to direct it to the people of South Africa.
This was it:
“We’re so far apart from the world. To go and compete, it’s very expensive for South Africans; it’s always long flights to get anywhere else in the world to compete. Maybe, just hopefully, this can inspire some South Africans to not stand back, but in other sports, just go and see where you are in the world.”
READ MORE: Fans react after former Currie Cup player wins World’s Strongest Man with just two years of training
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/rugby-helped-me-become-a-better-athlete-worlds-strongest-man-dedicates-success-to-background-in-the-sport
