Shock As Bulls Duo Head To France

There was massive shock in Pretoria rugby circles on Friday night when it was confirmed that Jacques du Plessis, one of the brightest prospects in South African rugby, had been lured to Montpellier on a two-year deal.
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The deal, which is said to be one of the largest in Europe, sees the SA under-20 utility forward join former Springbok coach Jake White’s French club for the foreseeable future.
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The InfoStride’s sources in France have revealed that an offer was first made to Sharks and Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit to join Montpellier, but he turned it down, with Du Plessis finding the money too good to refuse at this stage of his career.
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The Bulls were also dealt a further blow with the news that Bok lock Flip van der Merwe will be heading to Clermont at the end of the year.
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While Du Plessis will still complete his Super Rugby and Currie Cup seasons with the Bulls, the union, after losing Paul Willemse to Grenoble last year, were looking to the youngster to fill the gap at four lock with Van der Merwe injured, something he looked more than capable of doing in the pre-season games.
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However, the money was simply too good to refuse, and the Bulls couldn’t compete with the Euro.
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The signings aren’t set to be the last as White apparently has a hit list of players he wants for Montpellier and has cash to burn.
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Du Plessis starred for the SA under-20s in 2013, and made a name for himself at flank in last year’s Super Rugby competition, and the big utility forward is seen as a certainty for the Springboks in the future.
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The offer made to the 21-year-old Du Plessis was way beyond anything the Blue Bulls Company could even dream of putting on the table, according to Bulls High Performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg.
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“Jacques is one of the real upcoming stars in the game and this offer received from France is testament to that. We have been negotiating since June 2014 and he has indicated that he would like to return to the Bulls after the two years. That is good news to us, as he should also be in Springbok contention by that time.”
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Janse van Rensburg said there had been frank talks for some time between the Bulls and the two locks.
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“We want to thank both players, who were upfront with us from the start about offers from abroad. Flip has been a loyal servant to the Vodacom Bulls since 2009 and always made it clear that he would consider offers from abroad after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, especially as he does not have a Springbok contract. He has been a tremendous asset to the whole team and franchise over many years,” Janse van Rensburg said.
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The Bulls would now need to put more emphasis on their youth brigade, who will need to make the step up quicker to fill the void.
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“We have planned for events like this and have some of the best young locks in the country on our books already. Guys like RG Snyman, Dennis Visser, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Marvin Orie, Irne Herbst and Jason Jenkins are all among the best in their age groups and will be able to compete at a very high level,” Janse van Rensburg said.
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“It remains a massive battle to compete against the massive offers from abroad, especially as the exchange rate counts heavily against us, but we are confident that through good planning and scouting we will be able to remain a very competitive franchise at all levels.”
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The Bulls also confirmed that, as reported previously, Ulrich Beyers had signed with Bordeaux after completing a trial there.