Naka Drotské says he has ‘been given another chance at life’ after surviving a shooting during a home invasion.
The former Springbok hooker was at his brother Tinus’ smallholding in Kameeldrift, outside of Pretoria, on the night of 29 November when four balaclava-wearing men charged into the garden.
Drotské hurled himself at them.
‘I remember thinking we wouldn’t survive anyway,’ Drotské told You magazine, when asked why he did it. ‘And that made me angry, so I stormed them.’
Former Bok prop Os du Randt, who was also in the garden, rushed Naka to hospital. The car’s tyres burst when Du Randt drove over a traffic island, but he managed to wave down passersby, who took them to Netcare Montana.
What followed for Drotské was two hospital stays and two brushes with death.
‘My heart stopped twice,’ he said. ‘Within days my fighting spirit dwindled. Minutes became hours, hours became days, and without even realising what I was doing, I asked God to take me.’
Drotské, who spent the festive period in hospital, is now back home and in good spirits.
‘I’ve been given another chance at life,’ he said. ‘From now on I have to make every day count.’
