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Van der Linde is with the Boks in Toulouse for Friday’s Test against France after being called up following injuries to Jannie du Plessis and Gurthro Steenkamp. He suggested that he might come home sooner than later.
“I still have two years to go on my contract at Leinster but I have an escape clause whereby I can leave in May if I want to,” Van der Linde said.
“But nothing is set in stone and I will give it some more time before I make that decision. I would obviously like to play in SA again but I will first need to talk to Leinster and see how they feel about it.
“I can start talking to other clubs and provinces before May but I first would like to talk to the Leinster president.
“I don’t think they will see it as I owe them something after being injured for so long. I will make the most of the rest of this season and hopefully play well for them.”
Van der Linde has been with the Heineken Cup champions for 14 months but has been plagued by injuries that have limited his game time in the famous blue jersey.
Foot ligament damage kept him out of the Heineken Cup winning campaign and he’d only just returned to full fitness before being whisked off to join the Springbok camp. The club was very understanding though.
“When the Boks called on Saturday the club was very accommodating and told me it was my decision.” Van der Linde said. “Of course I never thought of saying no to the Springboks.”
