Vodacom Bulls director of rugby Jake White has confirmed that Kurt-Lee Arendse will take up a sabbatical in Japan which will see the speedster miss most of next season.
According to a report in Sunday newspaper Rapport on 25 August, the Bulls had given Arendse the thumbs up to make a short-term move to Japanese club Mitsubishi Dynaboars to boost his salary.
Arendse, who has been with the Herd since 2020, is expected to be back at the Pretoria outfit after the Rugby Championship, but will leave for Japan in December.
The 28-year-old will play in Japan’s League One from December until May and will return to Loftus Versfeld in time for the Vodacom URC playoffs. Arendse is still contracted with the Bulls until 2026.
Arendse’s move is similar to the one granted to fellow Springbok world champion Lukhanyo Am by the Sharks, when the outside back played six games for Kobe Steelers in 2022.
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Veteran campaigner Marcell Coetzee has previously also parted ways with the Bulls on a six-month sabbatical in the Far East.
Speaking during a URC media round table on Tuesday, White acknowledged the gap that Arendse’s temporary departure will leave at the Bulls while emphasising the importance of brokering such deals.
“A massive loss in that he’s won Player of the Year three years in a row at our club, and he’s won Players’ Player of the Year two of those three years as well,” he told reporters.
“It means the group sees him as important as the coaches see him, and as the fans do. It’s a massive loss.
“But as you must understand that the model we work with is that we have to afford our players those opportunities to keep them in the country, otherwise you’re going to have a mass exodus of players wanting to make money overseas.
“So it’s give and take there…”
Photo: Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
