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Sale Sharks lock De Jager turns back on SA return - reports
By Ian Cameron
Sale Sharks lock Lood de Jager has apparently turned his back on a return to South African rugby - according to reports.
It was confirmed earlier this month that the giant second row was leaving Manchester alongside fellow Springboks teammate Faf de Klerk, one of the worst-kept secrets in rugby. With Sale feeling both the Gallagher Premiership salary cap squeeze, as well as the loss of one of each side's two marque player allotments, De Jager's time in Sale was always going to come to an end sooner rather than later.
The former Vodacom Bulls forward had been linked with a return to his alma mater under head coach Jake White, while the DHL Stormers had also courted the 6'9, 125kg World Cup winner. Yet it now seems neither side has won his signature.
According to Rapport, De Jager will be instead heading to an as-yet-unnamed club in Japan.
De Jager, 29, has played 27 times for the club, scoring four tries, since he joined from the Pretoria-based Bulls after the 2019 World Cup. Both he and De Klerk played in their country’s third World Cup final victory in 2019 over England.
The 29-year-old started his career with the Toyota Cheetahs, where he went on to make 40 Super Rugby appearances for the Bloemfontein-based outfit He was rewarded for his outstanding form in 2015, winning the prestigious SA Rugby Player of the Year award.
De Klerk is also on his way to the Far East.
Originally earmarked for the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in Osaka, it was reported last week that he will instead sign for Canon Eagles. The reason being that the Hurricanes are set to be reverted to amateur status as a result of the current re-structuring of NTT’s two teams, with Shining Arc set to remain professional.
He will likely become one of the best-paid players in the world as a result, with an estimated salary in excess of £900,000 (€1.07m).
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Latest Comments
Think we have to accept we have been on the slide for a while now.Still interesting to see the repeated media pieces about the myth of the ABs slipping-I would say slipped past tense.In part don’t we have to give credit for the improvement of other nations particularly Ireland?Isnt that good for the game?Are we beginning to feel the impact of losing the Boks from Super rugby and maybe soon TRC?I would agree we are also ran right now so will be interesting to see how we progress-assuming we do!Isnt that part of sport though to be in improvement mode?Back to the stats though I think the Boks were under 60% leading into 2019?Now with the focus on the RWC does it matter so much what you are doing between tournaments?You just get through your group(remembering the ABs qualified 2nd in 2023)and then you have 3 matches to win the thing.
Go to commentsThe ABs have more than enough back line guys so don’t see issue there. Just the balance at center and feel time for Rieko to sit out.Forwards- balance still not right. Front row ok but miss Codie. But still ok. Locks- you now need to start s a tall timber at middle of lineout- Darry is the right guy. Then move Sititi to 8, move Ardie to 7 and then move Vaai to blindside. He can become the closest to PSdT . Then have proper bench as this is not a demotion but key to dominating last 30 minutes- Patrick, Ofa etc are golden here. Get the balance right between starters and finishers
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