Faf de Klerk has likely been at the centre of one or two raucous parties in the wake of South Africa’s World Cup win, but last weekend there was one more important welcoming party waiting to greet him when he landed back in England. It has been quite a journey for the 28-year-old scrum-half, who was exiled from the national side when he moved to Sale two years ago, but he left Japan this month as one of the stars of the world game.
From his square-off with Wales’s Jake Ball in the semi-final to that photoshoot in his underwear after winning the World Cup, De Klerk has become one of the unlikely poster boys of South African rugby – a far cry from 2017, when the No 9 left the Golden Lions and took a punt on kickstarting his career in English rugby with the Sharks. “He knew the consequences of moving here in regards to the Springboks, but he was really keen to come, and we liked that,” Steve Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby, explains.
Written by Aaron Bower
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/19/sale-faf-de-klerk-steve-diamond-european-champions-cup-la-rochelle under the title “Sale eager for Faf de Klerk to sprinkle stardust on and off the pitch”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
