Rugby
KweséESPN Staff 6y

Toulon confirm Duane Vermeulen departure

Rugby, Super Rugby

French Top 14 side Toulon have confirmed that South African No 8 Duane Vermeulen will leave the club at the end of the season and return to his homeland.

Earlier reports had speculated this was the case, and that the Springbok loose forward would re-join the Stormers, who he left for  France in 2015.

"Vermeulen is leaving, he will be replaced by an international level player that we will announce in the next 48 hours," Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal told AFP. "Duane is leaving because he wants to prepare for the World Cup [in Japan in 2019].

"We had offered him a contract that corresponded to the amount of time he works. We wouldn't have had him for half the year and over 24 months he would have been at the club for 11 months.

"We made him a great offer but he wants to go home and his national team coach is relying on him."

The 31-year-old Vermeulen, who has 39 Test caps, returned the Bok side after an injury absence in their end-of-year tour to Europe.

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