Sale will be bidding farewell to another of their South Africans after the club confirmed that Rohan Janse van Rensburg will be going home to play for the Durban-based Sharks. The 27-year-old centre has been at Sale for 4 years after an impressive loan spell during the 2017-18 season and made 73 appearances, scoring an impressive 23 tries.
Van Rensburg arrived from the Lions in South Africa ahead of the 2018-19 season. Faf de Klerk, who played alongside van Rensburg at the Lions, undoubtedly played a significant role in luring van Rensburg to Sale. He has been a quality signing for the club, providing a real physical ball-carrier at inside centre and getting the team on the front foot. Possessing a player who scares the living daylights out of opposition defenders is a very useful asset, and Sale have been fortunate to have both van Rnesburg and Manu Tuilagi at their disposal. When fully fit and firing there is no doubt that van Rensburg is an international-calibre player. Staying fit has been an issue for him throughout his career as he is prone to muscle injuries. Frequent injuries have probably been the main reason why he has not played a lot more for the Springboks. It is perhaps no coincidence that this season he has played over 20 times having lost a considerable amount of weight last summer and is looking leaner than he ever has done beforehand.
Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson mentioned earlier this season that the modern game is moving towards more ball players and playmakers in the centre positions rather than the more traditional big, physical centres. Rob du Preez’s move from 10 to 13 this season is an example of this transition. We could potentially see a transition into a slightly different playing style with more running rugby bringing in the outside backs.
Van Rensburg’s departure increases the importance of England international Manu Tuilagi to the side. Sale have had the luxury over the last couple of seasons of having both van Rensburg and Tuilagi at their disposal. However, Tuilagi will be away on England duty for long periods of the season and is injury prone himself so others will need to step up without van Rensburg at the club next season. The management of Tuilagi will be really important, especially considering van Rensburg’s departure. Alex Sanderson will hope that Sam Hill can recapture the form and performance level that he showed for a number of seasons at Exeter. As of yet Hill hasn’t shown on a consistent basis the levels he played at for Exeter but hopefully after a full pre-season and going into next season fully fit he can provide the team with a good back-up option to Tuilagi, knowing that Tuilagi will be away with England. Tom Curtis is likely to see more game-time at 12 next season as another option in that position as well as England Under-18 international Ben Motamed, although next season might be too soon for him.
The exact reasons for van Rensburg’s move to the Sharks are as of yet unknown. This deal could be yet another knock-on impact of the reduced salary cap in the Premiership for the next couple of seasons. The Sharks have also had a significant injection of money over the last couple of years which has led to them signing Springboks like Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi and Eben Etzebeth. It could be that the Sharks were able to offer him more money than Sale can afford with the salary cap at the level it is for the next 2 seasons. In an ideal world there is no doubt that Sale would have wanted to have kept a player of his calibre. We also should not forget that rugby players are human beings like everyone else and the opportunity to return home should not be underestimated. Perhaps the chance for van Rensburg to return to South Africa was too good an opportunity for him and his family to turn down.
Van Rensburg’s departure is obviously a blow because he is a quality player and a difference maker, but he is arguably not in Sale’s best 15 with Manu Tuilagi the first choice inside centre. However, he has been a real fan favourite during his time at the club due to his destructive ball-carrying ability and he will be missed.
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