Rugby Transfers: Sharks shift recruitment strategy, French giants chase Springboks powerhouse and Bulls swoop for Arendse replacement
Springboks prop Frans Malherbe and an inset of Munster winger Thaakir Abrahams.
South African props are the flavour of the month on the transfer market, the Sharks shift their strategy, while the Bulls target Kurt-Lee Arendse’s replacement and an overseas-based Springbok.
Check out our latest transfer news and rumours update with a particular focus on South Africa.
Frans to France?
Double Rugby World Cup-winning tighthead prop Frans Malherbe has emerged as a top target for French Top 14 giants La Rochelle, according to a report by RugbyRama.
Malherbe has been sidelined since March last year and missed the entirety of the Springboks‘ international season in 2025. The serious back injury led the experienced front-rower to consider retirement while a hip strain delayed his comeback.
Rassie Erasmus persuaded Malherbe from making that retirement call, and the prop recently attended the Springboks alignment camp as he edges towards a return to action with the Stormers.
Despite his luckless run of injuries, the 35-year-old has attracted the interest of Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle who are in the market for a new tighthead prop following the abrupt retirement French international Uini Atonio.
The front rower was hospitalised in January after suffering from a heart attack which led to his immediate retirement. La Rochelle are also set to lose Argentine prop Joel Scalvi to PREM Rugby club Leicester Tigers.
Their search for an experienced number three has turned to Malherbe, according to the report, with the veteran’s Stormers contract expiring at the end of the current season. The 76-Test cap Bok has played the entirety of his club career at the Cape-based side, but he could be enticed to play a season abroad.
The Stormers are also well stocked in the tighthead propping department ahead of next season, with Wilco Louw arriving from the Bulls, while the likes of Zachary Porthen, Neethling Fouche and Sazi Sandi are just some of the talents on their payroll.
Sampie wanted in England
PREM Rugby clubs are also in the market for props ahead of next season with Leicester and Harlequins reportedly shortlisting South African Sampie Swiegers.
The Pumas front rower made headlines in 2024 when he was invited to the Springbok alignment camp and while he didn’t make the final cut for the playing squad, he is held in high regard and was compared to Malherbe by his head coach, Jimmy Stonehouse.
While he has been linked with Leicester previously, the Daily Mail reports that he is also on Harlequins’ hit list. The London club’s recruitment has stalled due to the ongoing overhaul of their coaching team, but the forward pack remains an area of concern at The Stoop.
“If opportunities come my way, I am grateful for them,” Swiegers told Rapport in January amid the links with Leicester.
“Like any player, I remain aware of the opportunities here [in South Africa] or abroad but there’s nothing in writing. I believe if I give my best where I am at the moment, the right opportunity will come my way at the right time. But until then, I can only control what happens on the field.”
Staying in South Africa, where the Sharks announced a host of re-signings. The Durban-based club confirmed that Springboks Vincent Koch and Bongi Mbonambi have committed through to 2028 with rising star forward Matt Romao extending to 2029 and Coetzee Le Roux signing until 2027.
Bulls find Kurt-Lee Arendse replacement?
The Bulls have turned their attentions, signing another scrum cap-wearing outside back, Munster’s Thaakir Abrahams, to replace Kurt-Lee Arendse ahead of the 2026/27 season, according to Rapport.
Arendse is set to return to Japan at the end of the current season and rejoin the Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars, whom he enjoyed a short-term stint with last season. It is reported that the Pretoria-based side has already snapped up the services of Dylan Maart, who impressed during a loan stint with the Stormers. Maart has since returned to the Griquas for their SA Cup and Currie Cup campaigns.
Former Junior Bok Abrahams would further bolster the Bulls’ wing and full-back stocks ahead of next season having enjoyed a fruitful spell in Limerick with Munster. The 27-year-old joined the Irish club after one year at Lyon having previously represented the Sharks.
Finally, Rapport states that the Bulls are in ‘advanced talks’ to lure Curwin Bosch back to South Africa from French club Brive. He has been identified as a main target for the side to fill the void created by the retirement of Johan Goosen.
The club initially looked into recruiting Dragons’ fly-half Tinus de Beer, who was willing to pay his own transfer fee to return to South Africa. However the Welsh club were unwilling to let him go.
Bosch would offer the Bulls an option at number 10 and at full-back if he were to return to South Africa, having done so at the Sharks and now at Brive. He left South African shores in 2024, having slipped down the pecking order in Durban and moved away from the pressure cooker that is South African rugby.
Sharks shift recruitment strategy
Back to the Shark Tank and CEO Shaun Bryans explained at a media information session how the club is changing their recruitment strategy following the in-depth review of the team’s structures.
“We are not throwing one (recruitment) strategy out of the window for a totally new strategy,” Bryans was quoted by IOL Sport who were in attendance.
“It is all about balance and focusing on having the right players in the environment, whether they are currently Springboks or not. Certainly, from a balance and emphasis point of view, what we have learned is that it seems to work better bringing people through our own structures. It creates better cohesion.”
He added: “But the senior Springboks are important when you get to playoff time, when you are talking about the Champions Cup. So it is an evolution of the recruitment strategy rather than a new one.”
