English test delays Stormers star's move to England

NEWS: Cobus Wiese can only make his way to new club Sale in England once he passes an English test.

The 23-year-old Wiese will join from the Stormers and will be part of a powerful South African contingent at Sale Sharks, headed by World Cup winners Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager.

Steve Diamond, the Sale director of rugby, is relishing the prospect of getting a fully-fit squad ready for the resumption of the Premiership with the club in second place behind Exeter ahead of another nine regular-season games.

Wiese is currently waiting to satisfy the criteria for his visa which includes visiting a government office in South Africa to prove his command of English.

However, the Covid-19 lockdown means those offices are currently closed and the 23-year-old Springbok Under-20 player has no alternative but to wait for the chance to take his test.

"The Cobus deal is done but there are no English test offices open in South Africa at the moment," Diamond told RugbyPass.

"The contract starts on July 1 and we will be trying to get him as near to that date as we can and he is coming as a lock.

"All of our South African players who went back home are now here with their families and everyone is fully fit."

Meanwhile, England flank Mark Wilson has returned to newly-promoted Newcastle having managed just three appearances on loan for Sale Sharks.

Wilson underwent knee surgery in November after England’s World Cup campaign in Japan and managed just one start for Sale during his year-long loan from Newcastle along with two replacement appearances.

By Chris Jones, @RugbyPass