Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber on Tuesday announced his team to face the All Blacks in what will be their 100th all-time Test on Saturday, 25 September in little-known Townsville in Australia. Photo: SA Rugby website
ICYMI: Lood still on Stormers radar although Japan have also come calling
The Stormers still hope that Lood de Jager could be lured to Cape Town, but the Bok lock may be weighing up a big-money offer from Japan.
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber on Tuesday announced his team to face the All Blacks in what will be their 100th all-time Test on Saturday, 25 September in little-known Townsville in Australia. Photo: SA Rugby website
The Stormers have been in “talks” with De Jager for some time about the prospect of bringing him back from Manchester where he has been playing for the Sale Sharks.
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De Jager, still only 29, is believed to have expressed a keen interest in heading back to South Africa, having joined the Sale Sharks shortly after the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup title in Japan. Prior to his move to the Sale Sharks, he was an integral member of the Bulls squad.
On Tuesday, though, Sale confirmed that De Jager would be leaving the club at the end of the season – along with Faf de Klerk, who is expected to head to Japan.
It’s believed that there is a big-money option for De Jager to also head to a Japanese club, and the fact he apparently had to buy his way out of the last part of his Sale Sharks contract may ultimately make the offer in Japan too good to turn down.
Yet, the World Cup winner does have family in the Cape, and the recent success of the Stormers – who are now sixth on the URC log – could prove to be appealing prospects.
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De Jager’s two-year stay in Manchester has been beset with injuries, and since joining the club after the 209 World Cup, he has played 25 times for the club, scoring three tries.
LOOD DE JAGER WOULD ADD TO THE STORMERS’ ALREADY IMPRESSIVE LOCK STOCKS
Should he join the Stormers, De Jager would boost an already impressive list of locks at thee union, although this website has reliably learned that the negotiations are not “close enough” to get excited about just yet.
Fellow Springbok Marvin Orie is currently the first-choice No 5 lock at the Stormers, while Salmaan Moerat has recently extended his stay in the Cape until 2025.
The Stormers also have promising locks Adre Smith and Ben-Jason Dixon on their books, but it would be a massive coup if they could also land the signature of De Jager, who has 54 Springbok caps to his name.
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