According to French newspaper L’Equipe, England and Northampton Saints forward David Ribbans will be transferring to Toulon in France for the next season.
The Rugby Paper reported last month that Ribbans has a clause in his contract with the Saints which allows him to leave this year.
The English-qualified South African had risen through the ranks in Cape Town, helping the Under-19s win the Provincial Championship before making his first-class debut in the Vodacom Cup in 2015. Ribbans was then included in the Stormers’ Super Rugby squad in 2016, as well as being named Western Province’s Young Forward of the Year.
After making 18 appearances for Saints and scoring three tries during the 2017/18 season, Ribbans kicked on in Chris Boyd’s first season in charge of Northampton and played 22 matches in all competitions – starting 19 and crossing the whitewash four times along the way, as the side won the Premiership Rugby Cup and reached the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals.
And after 17 stellar appearances in 2019/20, Ribbans was named Players’ Player of the Season by his peers before earning the call to the England training camp ahead of the 2020 Autumn internationals.
The following term would be Ribbans’ most successful to date, with his 17 appearances in Black, Green and Gold earning him both the Players’ Player and Supporters’ Player of the Season gongs at Club level, as well as a place in the BT Sport Dream Team at the Premiership Rugby Awards.
Ribbans reached a significant milestone while helping Saints reach the Premiership semi-finals once more in the 2021/22 season, making his 100th appearance for the Club against Wasps, during which he won the Man of the Match award.