Premiership: Northampton Saints and Courtnall Skosan to part ways

Northampton Saints have announced that Springbok flyer Courtnall Skosan will leave the Premiership outfit at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Skosan joined the Saints from South African club the Lions in 2021 and has scored 19 tries after making 37 appearances in a Saints shirt to date.

“Courtnall is a very good man and I feel very strongly about him and his time at the club,” Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson told the club’s official website.

“He’s been a cracking character to have around the environment here; he’s a great role model for the younger lads and the whole group have an enormous amount of respect him.

“It’s fair to say Courtnall’s made a significant impact on the field too, his ability to score tries has been an incredible asset but his work rate in all the other areas of his game is just as impressive.

“He is an absolute professional and I know he will continue to give his all as we fight for a play-off place, after that Courtnall will leave with our very best wishes.”

Plenty of experience

An experienced campaigner, Skosan has made 12 appearances at Test level for South Africa and he played in more than 100 matches for the Lions in the Super Rugby and Currie Cup tournaments before joining the Saints.

The 31-year-old also represented his country at the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2011, South Africa ‘A’ in 2016, before making his full Test debut for the Springboks in 2017.

Skosan made an immediate impact at Northampton as he scored a hat-trick of tries on debut against Worcester Warriors in 2021 before scoring 10 further tries in his first season.

He has made 16 appearances so far this season and has added a further six tries to his tally already. Skosan is determined to end this spell at the Saints on a positive note.

“Thank you to Saints’ management, players, and staff for the last two seasons,” he said. “And to the fans – thank you for the support. You really are a force to be reckoned with, there’s no better feeling than to play in front of a packed Franklin’s Gardens.

“For now, though, I’m looking forward to finishing this season off on a high. God bless.”

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