Stormers lose Springboks’ World Cup winner as John Dobson lines up Steven Kitshoff’s back-up
Springboks Herschel Jantjies and an insert of Stormers prop Steven Kitshoff.
The Stormers are in the market for a scrum-half following the confirmation that Herschel Jantjies will leave Cape Town at the end of the season.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks scrum-half has signed a four-year deal with French Top 14 club Bayonne and will leave the Stormers at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Jantjies heads to France
Jantjies was a regular member of the Springboks set-up after breaking into the squad in 2019 and went on to play a pivotal role in winning the World Cup in Japan later that year.
He scored twice on his Test debut against Australia in July 2019 and came off the bench in each of South Africa’s knockout matches in Japan. Jantjies continued to be a regular selection for Jacques Nienaber in 2021 and played in all three Tests against the British and Irish Lions, but would feature just twice for South Africa the following year and once in 2023.
He has also fallen down the pecking order at the Stormers and has often featured off the bench, with Paul de Wet impressing in the number nine jumper. De Wet will also be leaving the Stormers at the end of the season after signing a deal to join the Bulls.
It was initially reported that Jantjies would join Montpellier with double World Cup-winning scrum-half Cobus Reinach heading in the opposite direction, but instead the former will join Bayonne who also have former Springbok forward Uzair Cassiem as well as former England centre Manu Tuilagi on their books.
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Stormers’ recruits
According to Rapport, Reinach could still be on his way to the Stormers with his contract with Montpellier expiring at the end of the season. Fellow Springbok, Jan Serfontein, could be returning to South Africa to rejoin the Bulls with his contract also up at the end of the campaign.
John Dobson was understood to be keen on signing Lions half-back Sanele Nohamba to fill Jantjies’ void but the talks have reportedly died down.
Meanwhile, Stormers back Ben Loader looks set to return to England with reports suggesting that the Cape-based side has no plans to extend his contract beyond the current season. The Telegraph has reported that Leicester Tigers and Saracens are leading the race for the talented back who hopes to chase an England call-up with a return to the Premiership.
The Stormers are also in talks with Sharks prop Ntuthuko Mchunu as they look to improve their loosehead prop depth. This after Steven Kitshoff underwent a potential career-saving surgery.
