Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Report: Handre Pollard to Leicester Tigers move imminent

Handre Pollard of Montpellier. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard will soon be unveiled as a Leicester Tigers player, according to reports coming out of the United Kingdom.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pollard has been with French club Montpellier since 2019. However, his contract is set to come to end when the current European season is over.

According to the Rolling Maul podcast, his move to the Tigers is a “done deal” and it will be finalised this week.

Video Spacer

The Offload | Episode 12

Video Spacer

The Offload | Episode 12

Pollard was reportedly offered more money by a Japanese club, but he turned it down.

“The word on the street, if you wish to believe it, is that Pollard is a done deal and we will be announcing him either Wednesday or Thursday this week and I’ve had that from two different sources,” said Rolling Maul co-presenter Elliot Butlin.

“The two people who have advised me that it’s happening are pretty trustworthy guys, they’re not someone to billy bulls**t on this sort of stuff. If they’ve heard a whisper themselves, I trust them if they think there’s enough truth in it to do it and it’s not just mindless gossip.

“The proof is in the pudding, we will have to keep our eyes open to see if it happens this week, if the rumours are to be believed, we are signing Pollard on Wednesday or Thursday this week. Salary for about £600k [ZAR 12.6 million], which is considerably less than what Japan was offering, which was £1m, so he’s coming not for the money but for the project.

“Apparently the presentation that was given to him by {Leicester head coach] Steve [Borthwick] and the club is what sold it to him, he was really impressed by what we were saying and he’s buying into the project and the journey, so to speak, we are embarking on.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Additional source: leicestermercury.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

G
GrahamVF 2 hours ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

164 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Return of 30-something brigade provides welcome tonic for Wales Return of 30-something brigade provides welcome tonic for Wales
Search