South African World Cup winning scrum-half Cobus Reinach will leave English Premiership side Northampton Saints at the end of the current season.
Reinach, who has scored 31 tries in two seasons at Franklin’s Gardens, joined Saints from South Africa’s Super Rugby franchise the Sharks in 2007.
He’s been offered close to £500,000 per season to move to the Top 14 with the playmaker set to sign a three-year contract.
The 29-year-old will reportedly be confirmed as a Montpellier player this week, where he will link up with other South African players, including fellow Rugby World Cup winners Handre Pollard and François Steyn.
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Reinach said that leaving was not an easy decision for him to make given that the Saints had an exciting squad which he believes can challenge for major honours.
“I’d like to thank everyone for making the last three seasons so memorable; I’ll be sad to leave some great friends and team-mates,” Reinach said.
“Saints will always have a special place in my heart and I look forward to giving everything I’ve got to make sure we finish the season with some silverware.”
LIST | 5 England players who could swap nations for 2023 World Cup
Sir Bill Beaumont has hit back in the World Rugby election race and revealed he wants to create a law change that would allow Manu Tuilagi and other England stars to end their Test career playing for other nations.
The former England captain raised the possibility in his re-election manifesto ahead of next month’s contest with former Argentina scrum-half Agustin Pichot.
In it he promises a review of Regulation 8 which covers eligibility to play for national teams “to see how we can support the longevity of players’ international careers”.
Based on this, we’ve looked at some other current England stars who could head to the 2023 Rugby World Cup to represent other nations.
We’ve not included Billy Vunipola, as we think he is likely to be still in the reckoning for England in three years time.
1. Manu Tuilagi (Samoa)
- Current number of caps: 41
- Age at the start of RWC 2023: 32
- Did you know: He was named Manusamoa, after the name of the Samoan national team
The England centre, who was born in Fogapoa and came to the UK at the age of 13, is one of a clutch of Pacific Island players whose eligibility status could change if the restrictions are relaxed. He is the younger brother of Freddie, Henry, Alesana, Anitelea and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi, all of whom are Samoan internationals and also played for Leicester. It would be fantastic for the powerhouse to complete the set.