'Nothing we could do': No Irish salary cap ultimately contributed to Kitshoff Ulster move

The Stormers did all they could to hold onto loosehead legend Steven Kitshoff, but in the end, there was "absolutely nothing we could do", and the 30-year-old this week confirmed a three-year deal with Ulster that starts at the end of the current United Rugby Championship (URC) season.

News24 has learnt that Kitshoff's annual salary with the Irish giants is astronomically higher - around 50% - than the Stormers could offer.

Even with the assistance of a third-party investor, the defending champion Stormers could get to around R9 million per year. While that is hugely competitive in the South African market, it could not compete with the Ulster deal.

Kitshoff now joins Duane Vermeulen, RG Snyman and Damian de Allende as the 2019 World Cup-winning Boks who committed to Irish rugby.

The concern is that there will be more to follow, especially given that Irish clubs - unlike in South Africa and England - operate without annual salary caps.

The South African franchises next season are expected to contract all of their players within a R71 million salary budget, and if there is any assistance from a third party, those funds must be declared and will contribute towards that cap.

It is a very different situation in Ireland, where the clubs simply need approval from Irish Rugby to contract foreign players.

What it essentially means is different contracting rules for different sides competing in the same competition, which is something that Stormers coach John Dobson acknowledges might be teething problems of the South African move up north. 

"It's going to be a bit of a journey, like the calendar, and when we play international rugby," he told News24.

"Because of the cap in England, we can actually compete with those numbers. But