UPDATE: Bulls let Kotze go
TRANSFER NEWS: Johnny Kotze will be heading to Japan after the Bulls accepted his transfer request, according to South African media reports.
On Sunday, Afrikaans newspaper Rapport reported that Kotze has ended his contract with the Bulls due to SA rugby’s enforced salary cuts and is heading to Japan.
However, Kotze’s agency One Sport SA quickly nullified all claims, stating the 27-year-old has been pursued by various teams in Europe and Japan and despite being in negotiations with Japanese club the player accepted the Bulls’ contract extension even though it was ‘below his current market value.’
But in another twist on Monday, Sport24, Kotze will leave the franchise after putting in a request to exit his contract.
*Read: Start of the SA RUGBY’s feeding frenzy
The reports reveal that “the Bulls confirmed that Kotze would be leaving Loftus.
“The player’s agent sent through an instruction that Johnny, who is also the chairman from the Bulls’ side at the Players Association, would be exercising his right within the 21-day period to leave,” a statement read.
“Jake White, the Director of Rugby, accepted and wished Johnny all the best with his decision.”
South Africa’s professional players have been granted a 21-day window ( May 14 deadline) to find alternative employment abroad as SA Rugby looks to save as much as R1 billion over the next eight months.
*Also read: SA rugby faces Bok ‘feeding frenzy’
