On the hunt for a new club, a renowned enforcer of the Springbok pack has been offered a contract with a top team in the French Top 14.
Rynhardt Elstadt was left out of the now-42-man squad that will be training in Pretoria until the end of June to prepare for the Rugby Championship and World Cup.
The 33-year-old made his Test debut for the Springboks in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup and was part of the squad that won the British & Irish Lions series in 2022.
However, his contract with newly-crowned Top 14 champions Toulouse is coming to an end and he is looking for a new club.
According to a report by the French publication RugbyRama, Elstadt will be offered a chance to stay with France’s most successful club as a World Cup joker.
Toulouse are expecting to lose the services of France flanks Francois Cros and Anthony Jelonch, as well as English loose forward Jack Willis, during the World Cup and will need back-row cover for the start of the new Top 14 season.
Elstadt will reportedly be offered a short-term contract by Toulouse for the duration of the World Cup.
Able to play at lock and blindside flank, Elstadt has won three Top 14 titles and a Champions Cup since joining Toulouse from the Stormers in 2017. His starting game time was significantly reduced in the recently concluded season, as he started in just 13 of his 23 appearances in 2022-23.
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