Juandre Kruger off to Racing Metro

Vodacom Bulls lock Juandrè Kruger did not extend his contract with the Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd beyond the the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby season and will leave the Vodacom Bulls to join up with French club Racing Metro 92.

Kruger made his debut for the Springboks this year and played in eight tests following an impressive Super Rugby debut for the Vodacom Bulls.

His contract with the BBC runs out in June 2013 and although the Vodacom Bulls could secure his services till the end of the competition, the 27 year old opted for the move to Paris after that.

Vodacom Bulls Head Coach Frans Ludeke said they understand the reasons why Kruger decided to leave.

“It is always good to know and to hear that your players are wanted all over the world, but unfortunately it is not always possible to hold on to them once those offers start coming in,” Ludeke said.

“With the exchange rate as it is at the moment, it is very difficult to remain on level terms with those clubs when it comes to contract talks. We were very keen to extend his contract, but financially it was just not possible. We are very happy for Juandrè, as it is a great offer he received, but that left us in an unfortunate position that we could not match it.”

Ludeke has no problem with Kruger’s continued commitment to the Vodacom Bulls in 2013.

“Not at all. Juandrè is a real pro and I know we can still expect a 110% effort from him. We sat down as a group recently to discuss our goals and objectives for 2013 and I am very confident that we will get an exceptional contribution from Juandrè right till the last game of our season.”

All very good and well but weg is Juandre!

We are being wiped ou tby the weak rand!!! Here are the Mighty Stormers poised for Super15 honours and we lose Habana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We should NOT be losing current BOKS!!!!!!!!! Something has to be done.

nz obvioulsy have a stronger currency and a centrl contracting system. It appears they do not lose as many players as us. This effects our Super 15 campaign as well as the Boks of course.

well the boks and meyer should not pick him at all if he is based overseas. i knew this type of thing will happen more often as SARU has shown that they are ok with picking overseas based players. not a good sign for SA rugby to be honest

Hi there Muncher. I dont think Juandre will stay in the Bok mix now.

He is however maximising his earning potential. First he makes good money playing overseas. Then he comes back and gets Bok status and goes back overseas with a better contract no doubt.

Who can blame the guys but where doe it leave us. This Habana story is really very bad news. The rand is so weak we cant compete with overseas clubs. What if, as is likely, it weakens further. I wonder if SARFU etc are even trying to devise a strategy to counter this!

He was exposed at test level, just not physical enough. There are far too many better youngsters about - look no further than Steph du Toit

meyers set a dangerous precident with his silly selections of players overseas, especially with the talent he has in SA.

pienaar and louw have worked out real well, but the youngsters all know that they can have their cake and eat it too by playing up north for the cash and still get selected for the Boks, something i have been very vocal about here.

if meyer was going to pick some NH based players or players who are leaving SA shores, then he should have picked cj stander who could have been every bit as good as louw (louw BTW was average against the ABs, ;o), lmao), he was definately one of that standout loosies in the spXV.

Sasue

I fully agree with you in this case - the selection of players for the Springboks should be limted to the most essential players only and should only apply when SA- based players are just not available.   That would limit the damage done.   Players like Steenkamp, Van der Merwe and Brits - all on the oldish side - are really not justifiable.

As to Kruger - he probably is in the same position as is the case with Sykes.   Younger players pose a threat to them both - and the huge moneys involved in French, Irish and POM club level - is drawing away large numbers of SA players.   The huge salaries paid to them make them instant multi-millionaires in SA terms after only two years and they return to SA and live in absolute luxury afterwards.   Very few if any remains in the foreign countries where they ply their trade.   The poor exchange rate is not reflrected in the cost of living in SA - hence the large number of foreigners with smallish incomes from for instance the UK living here.   

You saw the price of the Stormer jersey as an example.   However. lets take another example of a family with an income of 4000 pound sterling per month.   That effectively means a monthly income of R60 000.   You can live three times as well in SA on that income compared to how you live in the UK on 4000.

Be it is it may - the better option is not to select foreign-based players unless there are no SA-based players available.