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Sale Sharks confirm Akker van der Merwe departure
By PA
South Africa international hooker Akker van der Merwe will leave Gallagher Premiership finalists Sale Sharks with immediate effect.
Sale said that the 32-year-old had agreed an early release from his contract and will return to South Africa for personal reasons.
He made 70 appearances after joining Sale in 2019, scoring 31 tries.
“Akker has played some of his best rugby here, and we feel he has become one of the world’s best, most physical hookers,” Sale rugby director Alex Sanderson told the club’s official website.
“We are gutted to be losing him because he has been instrumental in everything we have done since I’ve been here. But he goes with our blessing, because he is leaving for the right reasons.”
Sale, meanwhile, have been linked with Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie and former London Irish hooker Agustin Creevy as possible front-row recruits ahead of next season.
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Let’s make them both Capt. I think we'd get the best of both of them and it would help alleviate some of the pressures of the role. They'd have to confer over on field decisions which should lead to “ learnings “ for both. They are our two best consistent performers.
Go to commentsForget what was said or how many players said it. TONY BROWN IS THE NEW ATTACK COACH. That’s the only story worth freaking out over. The springboks are going to grow their game an awful lot over the next cycle and it’s not just the 19 disgustingly arrogant Irish players who refused to shake Ebens hand and said “see you in the final if you can cheat your way past France” who will find that out first hand.
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