The Blue Bulls have given their departing hooker – Springbok Bandise Maku – the blessing to leave for the Lions at the end of the season.

Maku signed a two-year contract with the Johannesburg side mainly to get game time, something he has been lacking at the Bulls since the return of Gary Botha from England.

With Springbok Chiliboy Ralepelle now the number one choice, Maku has been relegated to the bench or outside the training squad over the past few weeks and this would definitely have played a major factor in his decision.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said he “understood” Maku’s decision, but was still disappointed that they would be losing the hooker.

Apart from Jacques-Louis Potgieter, their flyhalf who will be moving to the Sharks, and lock Wilhelm Steenkamp’s departure for the Cheetahs, the Bulls look to have secured all their players for next season.

The only addition to their squad at this stage is Currie Cup sensation Bjorn Basson, who broke Carel du Plessis and Colin Lloyd’s long-standing record of 19 Currie Cup tries this past weekend.

“We’re not surprised at the decision by Bandie,” Ludeke said, “He has been upfront with us the whole time and we know it is a decision about playing time.

“Bandie is a guy who aims very high and can go all the way, and we back him to do that. He obviously wants to play regularly and there are provinces that can guarantee him starting time.

“We’re lucky to be blessed with a lot of good hookers and while we would like to keep him, we gave him our blessing to move to the Lions. “We hope that he will continue his upward curve and go all the way.”

The Bulls will continue to use Botha and Ralepelle for the Super 14, with the space now open for one of the talented youngsters to step in and make a name for himself as the third choice hooker.