Otto debuted for the Springboks in the 1995 World Cup pool match against Romania in Cape Town on May 30.

The 38-Test cap veteran is part of an elite group of players who have played in two World Cups after adding a bronze medal in the 1999 World Cup to the gold medal he received as a member of the triumphant 1995 Springbok squad. He also won a Springbok cap against the British & Irish Lions in the third Test of the 1997 series.

The 1998 season was perhaps Otto’s finest as it earned him a nomination for the coveted SA Player of the Year award. Otto established himself as a key member of the Springbok tight five and along with Mark Andrews held the South African record for the most Tests as a lock pairing before being overtaken by Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield.

He started his provincial career as an 18-year-old at the Pumas in 1990. He made his debut for the Blue Bulls on the flank three years later and went on to win 94 caps for the Pretoria-based union. He played a number of matches alongside his younger brother Johan and they paired up once in the second row for the Bulls in the 1998 Super 12 competition.

Otto retired in 2000 at the age of 28 after medical examinations revealed a subdural haematoma in the left frontal area of his brain.

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