The Florida Boy Who Wore the Red and White

Wahl Justice Bartmann was born in Florida, on Johannesburg's West Rand, on 13 June 1963. He went to school there, matriculated from Hoërskool Florida in 1981 and was picked for the South African Schools side the same year. In 1982 he enrolled at the Rand Afrikaans University, now the University of Johannesburg, and made his Transvaal debut at nineteen.

THE TRANSVAAL YEARS. Between 1982 and 1989 Bartmann played 93 times for Transvaal. He was a flanker of the old Transvaal kind: fearless at the breakdown, loved by his own side and feared by the other. He is one of very few players to have worn Transvaal colours at primary school, high school, under-21 and senior level. For a spell in the eighties he was so central to the side that the union was unofficially known as TransWahl.

THE CAVALIERS. On 10 May 1986, aged 22, he won his first Springbok cap against the New Zealand Cavaliers at Newlands. It was rugby played in isolation, against a touring side that was not officially sanctioned, and the caps from that series still divide opinion. They are recognised by SA Rugby, and Bartmann's place in that back row was never in doubt.

NATAL, AND THE RECORD. In 1990 he moved to Natal. He captained the side 45 times and won the Currie Cup in 1990 and 1992. He was South Africa's Rugby Player of the Year in 1990 and again in 1991, and has said he played some of his best rugby at Natal under Ian McIntosh.

BACK AT ELLIS PARK. When South Africa returned to Test rugby in August 1992, the first match was against the All Blacks at Ellis Park. Bartmann was in the Springbok side. He played eight Tests in all, the last against France in Paris in October 1992, and toured New Zealand in 1994 without adding to his caps.

THE OTHER CAREER. His father, Mick, founded Springbok Patrols in 1963, the year Wahl was born, and the children worked in the business from a young age. Bartmann joined full-time when his playing days ended, with a law degree from RAU behind him. Under his leadership Springbok Patrols became Fidelity Services Group, which bought ADT South Africa in 2017 to form Fidelity ADT.

THE CIRCLE CLOSES. In February 2026 Fidelity SecureDrive became the Lions' team sponsor for the rest of the 2025/26 season. The company's chief executive had last worn Transvaal red and white in 1989. The Fidelity ADT Lions carry the same name in the Currie Cup.