Handre Pollard was amongst a group of Springboks and All Blacks invited to pilot a simulated Airlink aircraft. The famous flyhalf had a chance to fly an Embraer jet, similar to the one that performed a flyover at both Ellis Park and the DHL Stadium in the past two consecutive weeks.
POLLARD ‘FLIES’ AN AIRLINK JETIn a clip posted by Airlink, a group of Springboks and All Blacks players were invited to Airlink’s headquarters to participate in an aviation training session.
The South African players, including the likes of Aphelele Fassi, Ruan Nortje and veteran Handre Pollard, got behind the wheel of an Airlink jet – an Embraer E145 simulator.
Pollard appeared to navigate the masterclass within the cockpit with ease.
Take a look…
We had the pleasure of hosting the Springboks & All Blacks at our world-class aviation training facility in Johannesburg before the start of Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour to get a sense of what it takes to Connect Africa every day.
— Airlink (@Fly_Airlink) September 4, 2026
A different kind of training… pic.twitter.com/4JSVGHqlt0
MEET THE REAL LIFE BOK TO PILOT
Meanwhile, a real-life Springbok-turned-pilot has been identified as one of the crew behind the viral double flyover at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town last weekend.
Captain Jaco Henning, who once played for the Junior Boks, was at the controls of the black Airlink Embraer jet ZS-YDA, which flew in formation with the green one over the stadium.
A week earlier, Henning flew the green aeroplane with tail number ZS-YEA over Ellis Park.