Bok scrumhalf Faf set for R18.5 million move to Japan - report

Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk is reportedly set to sign a deal with the Red Hurricanes outfit in Japan.

According to The Telegraph, De Klerk, who currently plies his trade at English club Sale Sharks, is set to accept a £900 000 per year (R18.5 million) offer from the Japanese team.

The Red Hurricanes are coached by former Lions mentor Johan Ackermann, who gave De Klerk his big break at the Johannesburg-franchise back in 2014.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson told The Times earlier this week that the Premiership's reduced £5 million salary cap would make it difficult for the club to retain De Klerk's services.

"Faf isn't contracted to us next season and that is an ongoing discussion," Sanderson said.

"The most difficult thing (about the reduced salary cap) is that you want to keep them all, but you can't. Even if you do want to keep them, you are not going to be offering them as much as a French club or a Japanese club. It has been pretty brutal and it is part of the job.

"Faf hasn't left yet but the reality is that he could get offered £1m from Japan and that is the nature of the game. That challenge of fitting into the salary cap is quite exciting, but it is not numbers on a page - it is someone; s life and aspirations. Players have a finite time in their career and need to get paid market value, or somewhere near, and if we can't deliver that then I cannot control it."

The Sale Sharks are also expected to lose Springbok lock Lood de Jager, who is rumoured to be heading home to South Africa due to personal reasons

De Klerk, who boasts 36 Test caps for the Boks, joined Sale Sharks in 2017, while 54-Test veteran De Jager arrived in 2019.