Ruan Pienaar returns to the Sharks for the good of SA rugby

Veteran Cheetahs scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar is returning to the Sharks where he started his career on a short-term loan deal.

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Pienaar made his professional career debut for the Sharks in the Currie Cup in 2004 where he played until 2010 before moving to Ulster, Montpellier and finally back home in 2019 to join the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein – the city in which he was born.

The 88-Test capped Springbok will provide cover with the Sharks having lost Jaden Hendrikse to injury and Grant Williams to the Springboks during the inaugural United Rugby Championship.

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In addition to Ruan Pienaar’s move, Tian Meyer will also swap the Cheetahs for the Sharks.

Meyer will be available for the Sharks’ United Rugby Championship outbound tour and will then return to the Cheetahs, while Pienaar will stay on loan for a longer period of time.

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The deals are part of a cooperation agreement between the Sharks and Cheetahs to exchange players – a move that has been made to benefit each party financially necessitated by the ‘economic consequences’ of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The international disruption of rugby by Covid-19 and its economic consequences necessitates the rebuilding and strengthening of this wonderful game. This requires innovative plans to retain good players and coaches, to maintain performance and to ultimately achieve. The cooperation agreement would help both teams and offer them flexibility,” said Harold Verster and Dr Eduard Coetzee, respective CEOs of the Cheetahs and Sharks.

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