SA team confirms Etzebeth signing

NEWS: The Sharks have confirmed that Springbok superstar Eben Etzebeth will be joining them at the end of the current European season.

Etzebeth will be released early from his Toulon contract to return to South Africa.

In a statement released this past weekend, Toulon said Etzebeth will be leaving for "personal reasons".

"Aware of the difficulties encountered by the player, Toulon took note of this request and accepted it," said the club at the time.

In the statement, Etzebeth said: “I am sad to have to leave Toulon and my teammates at the end of the season but personal reasons force me to do so.

"Toulon and its supporters welcomed me… I have the will to give everything with this team until the end of the season, to allow Toulon to perform, to move up in the standings and to be ambitious in the Challenge Cup."

In January, Toulon president Bernard Lemaître labelled Etzebeth as a ‘handicap’ due to the lock being expensive and often unavailable through injury and international commitments.

In an interview with the newspaper Var-matin, Lemaître addressed Toulon’s issues regarding player recruitment ahead of the 2022/2023 season and took aim at Etzebeth.

"There is a double problem in recruiting: the salary cap and the JIFFs [French-reared players]," Lemaître said at the time.

"You can’t do just anything, so I pay special attention to the situation of internationals because they can be an opportunity or a handicap.

"In this case, players like Eben Etzebeth and Facundo Isa are a clear handicap for the club."