Another Cheetah heading to Durban
The Sharks are continuing to raid the ranks of the Cheetahs, with loose forward Philip van der Walt the latest capture.
It was confirmed that the 25-year-old, who had just returned from a stint with Biarritz in France, will join up with the Sharks before the start of the Currie Cup season in August.
Christoffel Philippus van der Walt, who played 80-odd games for the Cheetahs (Super Rugby) and Free State (Currie Cup), moved to Biarritz in 2014 – where he made 22 appearances.
Biarritz, with a rich history in French and European competitions, were crowned French champions five times – 1935, 1939, 2002, 2005 and 2006. They also beat Top 14 rivals Toulon 21-18 in the 2012 European Challenge Cup (secondary competition) in 2012.
However, Biarritz went into a major slump during the 2013–14 Top 14 season and ended up being relegated to the Pro D2 (Second Division) for the 2014–15 season.
The signing of Van der Walt is another coup for the Sharks, who are in the process of 'rebuilding' the team under the guidance of Director of Rugby Gary Gold – with several season players set to depart after this year's World Cup.
Standing 1.93m tall and weighing 110kg, he will also be an invaluable asset to a Sharks team that will be minus all their World Cup-bound Springboks during the Currie Cup season.
It also follows in the wake of other recent signings, such as Springbok loose forward Jacques Potgieter, who have joined the Durban-based franchise on a two-year contract from the Waratahs.
Other Cheetahs stars heading to Durban include utility back Joe Pietersen, who will join the Sharks at the end of May, and Springbok fullback Willie Le Roux, who will join the Sharks for Super Rugby 2016. Le Roux is set for a stint in Japan after the World Cup.
It has also been revealed the Springbok wing Cornal Hendricks has requested permission to "negotiate" with other franchises – which include the Sharks.
Free State Cheetahs (Pty) Limited has granted permission, but there is no indication where he is heading.
The recent signings is a timely dosage of good news for the Sharks, in the wake of the recent media melee over the departure of three senior Springboks – Willem Alberts, along with the Du Plessis brothers Jannie and Bismarck.
Alberts has been linked to French club Stade Francais, although some of the finer details of the agreement as not been resolved.
The Du Plessis brothers are said to be moving to French club Montpellier.
However, as is the case in the Alberts saga, some of the speculation – where media licence was used rather liberally – not all the facts are accurate.
In the instance of the brothers the reported "deposits" €150 000 per player paid by the French club is completely untrue.
The factual details about their respective futures will be revealed in the weeks to come, but it is clear there are ongoing negotiations – soon to be completed.
