South Africa second row Bakkies Botha will not be moving to French second division club Toulon - for the time being at least.
South African will not be joining French side Toulon.
South Africa second row Bakkies Botha will not be moving to French second division club Toulon - for the time being at least.
The World Cup winner has been at the centre of a bitter wrangle between his Super 14 franchise the Bulls and Toulon since the French club announced on their website they had signed Botha to a lucrative deal.
Toulon had also added the player would arrive in France on Tuesday to be unveiled as their latest high-profile recruit.
Botha, however, apparently did not make the trip to France and has been named in the Bulls starting XV for their Super 14 clash with the Sharks in Pretoria this weekend.
Toulon top the French second division and have a number of international stars in their playing ranks, including Botha's fellow World Cup-winning second row Victor Matfield and Australia scrum-half George Gregan, who holds the record number of Test caps.
Injury
Botha has been struggling with an ankle injury for two months but is now close to full fitness and will definitely start against the Sharks.
Coach Frans Ludek is delighted to have the player at his disposal and told the Bulls official website: "Bakkies looks fresh and the match will determine how long he is going to be on the field.
"He is obviously not ready for the full 80 minutes but it is wonderful to have him in the team because apart from all his other attributes he is one of those players that can turn a game around and it is great to have another very experienced guy on the field."
There has been no comment from Toulon but the Bulls had threatened to go to the International Rugby Board if Botha, who is tied to a long-term contract with the South African side, had attempted to break it in order to take up a lucrative two-year deal in France.
The player has long been regarded as one of the world's best second row forwards and along with Matfield formed a partnership seen by most observers as the best in Test rugby.
Despite all the claims and counter claims, Botha has so far not made any public comment as to his intentions but his inclusion in the Bulls squad for this weekend's game suggests he may have accepted the fact that Toulon's efforts to sign him have either stalled or collapsed altogether.
