Willie le Roux to return to South Africa after six years away

World Cup winning Springbok Willie le Roux will bring his six-year spell away from South African rugby to an end after signing a three-year deal with the Bulls.

The 83-cap fullback will arrive from Japanese outfit Toyota Verblitz, who he joined in 2019 following a two year stint with Wasps in England. The last side he played for in South Africa was the Sharks, in 2016, which was sandwiched between his time with Wasps and the Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan. Prior to that he had also represented Griquas, the Cheetahs and the Boland Cavaliers.

The 33-year-old will join his new team at Loftus Versfeld at the conclusion of South Africa's World Cup defence later this year.

Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone said: “Willie is a world-class player with so much experience behind him. Our stable is sure to benefit from having a player with more than 83 caps for his national side. Moreover, we believe that his wealth of experience will really add more stability to our backline.

“We are continuing with our ambitions of putting together a squad that can help us not only challenge but go for the crowns whilst playing some entertaining rugby and he is a player that falls into classification. We are all confident that his versatility will be appreciated by both the young and the wise.

“We of course wish him and the Springboks well for the upcoming Rugby Championship and cannot wait to have him join us later in the year.”

In the meantime, le Roux's focus will be firmly on this Saturday, where he has been selected to start in the N0.15 jersey against Australia in what will be his new home ground later this year, Loftus Versfeld. He still has the Rugby Championship and the World Cup to contend with before he switches his attention to the Bulls.