More Boks to join Japanese exodus?

JOHANNESBURG - Springboks Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana may be the next big profile names to jet off to Japan after it was confirmed they were in negotiations with top Japanese team Kobe Steelers.

Both players are yet to conclude negotiations with Western Province and the Stormers and can earn big money in Japan where they will join Rugby World Cup teammates Danie Rossouw and Fourie du Preez, both of whom have signed for Suntory Sungoliath for the next two years.

Fourie confirmed his negotiations to Western Province after arriving home from the World Cup earlier this week while Habana has been in talks with the Steelers for a few weeks now. The club confirmed both players were in negotiations with them.

While it seems almost certain that Fourie will move to Japan, with club sources saying the deal is close to being signed, Habana appears to be  "just in talks"  for the moment, and could well end up renewing his contract with WP rather than heading overseas.

Earlier SuperSport.com reported that Habana had been turned down by French superclub Toulon for wanting R21-million over three years rather than the R18-million they were offering him. According to sources in Europe, Habana's name is still being mentioned there, but it seems he has decided to stay in Cape Town, unless the Japanese can convince him.

The Kobe Steelers already have one South African player in Peter Grant and it seems the lure of the Yen and a lower intensity of games are an attractive combination at the moment, with many New Zealand and Australian players opting for the Far East.

It will also be interesting to see the reaction in Cape Town if Fourie does decide to head East, as the Bulls snapped up Johan Sadie because Province could not guarantee him game time in the Super Rugby series as they already have three Springbok midfielders in Fourie, Jean de Villiers and Juan de Jongh.

WP CEO Rob Wagner confirmed earlier this week to Sport24 that Fourie had been speaking to Japanese clubs.

"Jaque let us know immediately that a quite a few Japanese clubs spoke to him," said Wagner.

"It is always the case that clubs put their feelers out to big players who have not lengthened their contracts for the next season."

"Jaque let us know that he does not want to make any decision until he has spoken to us and because he had to focus on the World Cup, we did not want to speak to him on the phone every single day," insisted Wagner.

Province may opt for an arrangement similar to Grant's, where he returns midway through the Super Rugby season.