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Springbok Willie le Roux signs with Japanese club sealing Wasps exit
By Online Editors
Springboks fullback Willie le Roux has signed with a Japanese Top League club, confirming his expected departure from Premiership club Wasps.
The South African will link with former Springboks coach Jake White at Toyota Verblitz for the 2019-20 season following the Rugby World Cup.
Le Roux has been at Wasps since late 2016 after spending just one season with the Sharks in Durban that year. The 29-year-old helped the Coventry-based club reach the Premiership final in his first season, but they could not overcome Exeter going down 23-20.Wasps reached the semi-finals in his second season, but after a string of high-profile departures before this season, the club has been on a downward trend. Le Roux will join the likes of Danny Cipriani, James Haskell, Elliot Daly, and Nathan Hughes as internationals who have left or will leave the club in the last two seasons.
He is very familiar with the Japan Top League, having previously spent three seasons in Japan with the Canon Eagles from 2015-17. He will join South Africans Reniel Hugo, Jason Jenkins, Carl Wegner, Lionel Cronjé, Clinton Swart and Gio Aplon at the club, while it is understood All Blacks captain Kieran Read is also heading there after the World Cup.
Bill Beaumont issues statement:
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Latest Comments
I commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
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