World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi has ended his 11-year stay with South Africa’s Stormers and is expected to be unveiled by the Durban-based Sharks in the coming week.
The move has long been mooted, with Western Province Rugby confirming on Sunday they had released Kolisi early from his contract, which was due to expire at the end of October, having accepted a transfer fee from an unnamed team.
The loose-forward is the second-most capped player for the team in Super Rugby with 118 appearances, just behind Schalk Burger (123), though the Cape Town-based side and the Sharks will compete in Europe’s PRO14 competition from 2021.
Kolisi, 29, captained the Springboks to their 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph and is a hugely popular figure in the country with a rags to riches story.
His move to Durban follows the acquisition in January of a 51 per cent stake in the Sharks by a United States consortium, MVM Holdings, that is headed by South African-born New York attorney Marco Masotti.
Meanwhile, England coach Eddie Jones said that Jonny May's extraordinary try in Saturday's 41-18 Six Nations victory over Italy reminded him of a rugby league finish, though the flying up and over dive would have probably been more at home in last week's Super Bowl.
May received the ball on the left touchline in the final play of the first half but his route to the line was seemingly blocked by hefty Italy winger Luca Sperandio.
It proved no barrier for May, however, who launched into a dive up and above his opponent and managed to touch the ball down.
It was just the sort of acrobatic leap often seen in the NFL to overcome a defensive line guarding the end zone and something Jones has seen many times before in his native Australia.
"He’s obviously been watching rugby league," he said. "It's traditionally a way of scoring, a smart way, in the NRL (National Rugby League) – absolutely brilliant.
"I think he’s looked at videos, but he’s such a great try scorer."
The try took May's international tally to 32, clear in second place behind 49-try Rory Underwood in the England pecking order.
Fellow winger Anthony Watson also had a good day as he ended an 11-month drought with a score in each half. He then spent the last 15 minutes as a makeshift forward after a horrific-looking knee injury ended flanker Jack Willis's involvement.
