Springbok departures highlight depth-building challenge for SA teams

Shortly after their losses to Glasgow and Toulon in the Champions Cup Round of 16, the Bulls and Stormers announced that Springbok locks Ruan Nortjé and Salmaan Moerat would join overseas clubs before the 2026/27 season.

Nortjé and Moerat aren’t the only Boks heading abroad, and given the socio-economic situation in South Africa, they certainly won’t be the last.

Top players earn substantially more in Japan and France, and as per SA Rugby’s selection policy, the move abroad won’t jeopardise Nortjé and Moerat’s international prospects.

Both will remain eligible for Springbok selection in the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup, and beyond.

While that’s good news for the Boks, the respective franchises will need to plug a couple of sizeable gaps over the next few months.

Overall, it remains to be seen whether the leading franchises will have the depth to progress to the latter stages of both the Champions Cup and the United Rugby Championship in the 2026/27 season.

Bulls face rebuild

News of Nortjé’s departure to the Kubota Spears in Japan follows confirmation that scrummaging colossus Wilco Louw will return to Cape Town before next season.

Nortjé and Louw were among the Boks’ leading forwards in 2025, and have formed the backbone of the Bulls’ challenge in both the URC and Champions Cup in recent years.

Furthermore, two key backline players in Kurt-Lee Arendse and David Kriel have opted to pursue opportunities overseas. Foreign clubs have expressed an interest in scrumhalf Embrose Papier – who has had an outstanding season – as have the Sharks.

The acquisition of wingers Thaakir Abrahams and Dylan Maart, back-row stalwart Hanro Liebenberg and promising young tighthead Mawande Mdanda may mitigate recent losses to some extent, but it would be a stretch to suggest that these players are in the same league as frontline Boks such as Arendse, Nortjé and Louw.

The Bulls still boast more than a dozen Springboks on their books. While they have the youngsters to build for a more prosperous future – Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Cheswill Jooste to name a few – success in the short term may hinge on the “middle band” of players who will be available when the Boks are away on Test duty.

This could be particularly relevant in a World Cup year, when access to the Boks may be further restricted due to training and resting protocols.

The Bulls have attempted to bolster this situation in recent seasons, but the likes of Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Jan Serfontein, Jannes Kirsten and others who returned from Europe have yet to make a telling contribution towards the club’s results.

Props Lizo Gqoboka and Sti Sithole, who moved to Pretoria last year, have barely played this season.

Bulls boss Johan Ackermann – who replaced Jake White shortly before the start of the current season – faces some big player-management decisions in the coming months.

Lions to focus on URC

The Lions have managed to retain most of their leading players ahead of next season, in spite of the interest in Springboks Quan Horn and Ruan Venter.

The addition of Bok loosehead Boan Venter should bolster their front row next season and provide a reprieve for props such as SJ Kotze and RF Schoeman, who’ve played the bulk of the matches in recent months.

While there are still several rounds to play, Cash van Rooyen’s side looks set to make history by becoming the first Lions side to qualify for the URC playoffs.

It’s a minor milestone in the grand scheme of things, and yet it would signify progress for the Johannesburg-based team.

But the Lions weren’t as competitive in the recent Challenge Cup campaign, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Even if they finish in the top eight of the URC and qualify for the next edition of the Champions Cup – Europe’s top tier – they may not have the depth to compete on both fronts next season.

Sharks still searching

Sharks fans have every right to feel disappointed with a squad of galacticos that has promised so much yet delivered so little in terms of big results and silverware.

Nevertheless, expectations should be tempered as JP Pietersen – who took the coaching reins from John Plumtree this past December – looks to initiate a rebuild before the 2026/27 season.

While the Sharks have the loose forward talent to offset the departure of Siya Kolisi, they may miss the Bok captain’s experience. Grant Williams, who is off to Japan, is the franchise’s biggest loss, given his ability to ignite the attack and score game-changing tries.

To be fair, the Sharks have made arguably the best signing ahead of the new season.

Prop Thomas du Toit won the treble with Bath earlier this year, and the English-based club remain in the running for both the Premiership and Champions Cup titles this season.

The versatile and well-travelled front-rower has been one the best players in Europe over the past few years, and will add a lot of value as a player and leader when he returns to Durban this June.

Stormers on track

Stormers coach John Dobson recently admitted that Moerat’s decision to join La Rochelle caught him by surprise.

Another senior lock in Ruben van Heerden will move to Montpellier at the end of the season, leaving the Stormers light on experienced second-row options.

JD Schickerling, Adré Smith and Connor Evans have made important contributions over the course of the season, but can’t be expected to play every game over the course of a 10-month schedule.

Junior Bok captain Riley Norton is a bright prospect, but is just starting his professional rugby journey.

Overall, the Stormers are the best-placed South African franchise in terms of depth.

The Cape side possesses a potent mix of former and current Springboks, a strong middle band of players who don’t play Test rugby, as well as a large contingent of promising youngsters.

While the lock stocks have taken a hit, the front row should be stronger than ever once Louw joins the side and another Springbok veteran in Frans Malherbe returns from a long-term injury.

Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse have hogged the headlines this past season, but the key to the team’s sustained success – they are currently second in the URC and won three out of four Champions Cup pool matches – has been the contributions of the non-Test players.

Ruhan Nel, Jurie Matthee and Dan du Plessis have made game-shaping contributions, as has loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani, who recently returned from France.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the Stormers have developed alternate tactical approaches, and have developed a wider squad with the ability to adapt to specific weather conditions and game situations. The results serve as evidence of their progress.

One would expect the Stormers to take their performances further in the coming year, and Dobson himself has set the goal of a Champions Cup title by 2029.

While the senior players will have a crucial role to play over the course of that journey, it’s encouraging to think that Junior Boks such as Norton, Markus Muller, Kai Pratt and others are already in the Stormers system, and will be entering their prime by 2029.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu – the 24-year-old flyhalf who represents the present as well as the future of Stormers and Springbok rugby – has also committed to the franchise until the end of the 2028/29 season. DM