{"id":335365,"date":"2025-12-25T19:14:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T19:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/335365\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T19:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T19:14:12","slug":"clubs-go-to-war-for-kriel-bulls-sack-coaches-and-faf-set-for-sharks-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/335365\/","title":{"rendered":"Clubs go to war for Kriel, Bulls sack coaches and Faf set for Sharks return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Springboks duo Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel have been linked with moves away from Japan Rugby League One club the Canon Eagles.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports, the double Rugby World Cup-winning pair\u2019s contracts expire at the end of the current season and could leave the Japanese club for new pastures.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, there have reportedly been further changes at Loftus.<\/p>\n<p>Faf lined up by PREM Rugby clubs<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rugbypass.com\/news\/fissler-confidential-fafs-prem-return-paddy-jackson-eyes-new-club\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rugby Pass<\/a> reports that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/tag\/faf-de-klerk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">De Klerk<\/a> could return to PREM Rugby with his former club Sale Sharks and the Newcastle Red Bulls are likely to enter the race for his services.<\/p>\n<p>Newcastle have started to splash the cash invested by the Red Bulls, announcing the signing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/all-blacks-snubs-prem-switch-confirmed-as-club-show-we-really-mean-business\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">All Blacks snub Hoskins Sotutu<\/a>, who will join the side after the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.<\/p>\n<p>The 34-year-old could link up with the now England-qualified back-rower at Newcastle in a move that could reignite his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/team\/south-africa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Springboks<\/a> career. The experienced scrum-half fell down Rassie Erasmus\u2019 pecking order this year, featuring just twice for South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>While the Bok boss has repeatedly stated that De Klerk has not been discarded and remains in the mix, he faces an uphill battle to cement his place as one of the best number nines in the country.<\/p>\n<p>However, that has been hindered by his latest injury setback, which is set to rule him out for the majority of the Japanese season.<\/p>\n<p>Newcastle are understood to be in the market for a scrum-half, having been repeatedly linked with All Blacks and Blues halfback Finlay Christie. Sale Sharks have also been linked with a move for Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-1 text-sm font-semibold leading-snug text-title line-clamp-3 sm:mb-0 sm:text-[15px] sm:leading-5 sm:line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/eddie-jones-reveals-where-springboks-are-50-better-than-any-other-team-as-he-tables-law-tweak-to-weaken-rassie-erasmus-strength\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eddie Jones reveals where Springboks are \u201850% better than any other team\u2019 as he tables law tweak to weaken Rassie Erasmus\u2019 strength<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jesse Kriel on the move?<\/p>\n<p>Fellow Bok Kriel could join De Klerk in leaving the Eagles, as the <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-15388663\/Prem-Rugby-transfers-Sinckler-England-Bristol-Rees-Zammit-Leicester-Springboks.html\" target=\"_blank\">Daily Mail<\/a> reports that PREM and Top14 clubs are set to go to war over his signature.<\/p>\n<p>The report states that the 67th Springboks captain\u2019s contract expires at the end of the season could make the move to Europe before the 2027 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>No clubs were named in the report, but considering his pedigree and recent international form, it would not be surprising to see heavyweight teams enter the race for his services.<\/p>\n<p>The 31-year-old made history ahead of the 2025\/26 season as he was unveiled as the Canon Eagles, the club\u2019s first non-Japanese skipper in its history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"px-3 xs:px-4 mt-3 mb-2 font-semibold leading-snug text-base text-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/sharks-close-in-on-springboks-star-ahead-of-siya-kolisi-exit-after-being-snubbed-by-leicester-favourite\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sharks \u2018close in\u2019 on Springboks star ahead of Siya Kolisi exit after being snubbed by Leicester favourite<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bulls coaches dismissed<\/p>\n<p>The Bulls\u2019 lacklustre start to the Johan Ackermann era has claimed its first two victims in assistant coaches Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw.<\/p>\n<p>According to Rapport, the duo were informed on Tuesday that they must clear their offices at Loftus Versfeld with Ackermann now able to hire new assistants, having inherited those who worked under Jake White.<\/p>\n<p>Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=planetrugby.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n<p>It is understood that lineout coach Bekker and backs coach Rossouw\u2019s contracts expired at the end of the season and were set to retain their positions until then, with the new Bulls boss then deciding whether to keep them on or not.<\/p>\n<p>However, after five straight defeats, the union has pulled the trigger. The report adds that Ackermann will need to hire a replacement for Rossouw, but may fulfil Bekker\u2019s duties himself.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/the-finest-funniest-and-most-memorable-rugby-quotes-of-2025-including-gems-from-andy-farrell-rassie-erasmus-louis-rees-zammit-and-more\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The finest, funniest and most memorable rugby quotes of 2025 including gems from Andy Farrell, Rassie Erasmus, Louis Rees-Zammit and more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Springboks duo Faf de Klerk and Jesse Kriel have been linked with moves away from Japan Rugby League&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[130451,348,3482,386,103264,2059,50,21002,5903,32645,4247,101,18093,568,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-335365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-faf-de-klerk","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-japan","tag-jesse-kriel","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-premiership","tag-rugby","tag-sale-sharks","tag-south-africa","tag-sports","tag-top-14","tag-transfers","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}