Willie le Roux

Cornal Hendricks

With the player transfer window in South Africa looming large from 1 July, there is a lot of movement already in player signings.

Willie le Roux has opted not to renew with the Cheetahs and will in stead go to Japan for the remainder of the year after Super Rugby and International committments, whereafter he will return to South Africa but join the Cell C Sharks for the 2016 Super Rugby season.

Cornal Hendricks has also asked for permission to start negotiating with other interested parties, although the transfer window for negotiations will only be open from 1 July.

But the Cheetahs are not the only Franchise hit hard, at the Bulls, Francois Hougaard has signed in Japan for the Canon Eagles, the same Club which Willie le Roux has signed for and has not re-committed to the Bulls for Super Rugby in 2016.

Also at the Bulls, William Small-Smith has requested permission to also start early negotiations with 3rd parties, earlier than the 1 July Transfer Window’s opening.

Willie le Roux:

Toyota Cheetahs and Springbok fullback Willie le Roux will join the Cell C Sharks from the 2016 season.

The 25-year-old will join Japanese club, Canon Eagles, for 3 months after his 2015 Springbok commitments are completed, before joining the Durban-based franchise in time for next year’s Super Rugby competition.

Le Roux has represented the Cheetahs in 56 Super Rugby matches since 2012, but the Bloemfontein franchise was reportedly unable to match the offer of the Sharks.

In Durban, Le Roux will join Cheetahs team-mate Joe Pietersen, who last week announced that he would join the Sharks on a 2-and-a-half year deal.

In some good news for the Cheetahs, Le Roux has recovered from his ankle injury and will be available for their final 2 Super Rugby matches – against the Waratahs and Vodacom Bulls.

Le Roux has played 25 Tests for the Springboks since making his debut in 2013.

Cornal Hendricks:

New Toyota Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has had to quickly become accustomed to the realities of his new franchise, with word that some star players are leaving the franchise.

But Smith’s hopes of retaining Springboks are set to be dashed as Cornal Hendricks looks set to be the next Bok to leave Bloemfontein, although he hasn’t decided which province he will join come next season.

The loss of Hendricks will be seen as another massive blow for the Cheetahs franchise, especially as the winger became a Springbok while in Bloemfontein after spells with the Boland Cavaliers and Springbok Sevens teams respectively.

Hendricks is known to be one of the players SA Rugby have been targeting to keep in South Africa and wherever he goes, it is likely the deal will include his Springbok contract to keep him within the country’s borders.

Hendricks has asked for and been granted permission to negotiate with other teams as his deal ends in October this year.

Normally players would have to wait for the 1 July transfer season to open, but the Cheetahs decided to grant his request to finalise his future earlier, and seem to have accepted that he will be leaving later this year.

While it was not divulged which unions are currently negotiating for the Springbok star, the Vodacom Bulls, DHL Stormers and Sharks have all been known to be interested in a player of his quality.

The Cheetahs still have Raymond Rhule on their books as well as Clayton Blommetjies and Sergeal Pietersen, although Rhule’s contract is also up for renewal and the Cheetahs face some stiff competition from the Bulls for his signature.

The Cheetahs did sign young Sharks pivot Fred Zeilinga for the ABSA Currie Cup after losing Joe Pietersen to Durban, but are likely to rely heavily on the bulk of the Varsity Cup-winning Shimlas side – which Smith coached to victory – for the Currie Cup campaign.

Hendricks is set to announce his move in the next few weeks when negotiations have been finalised.