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Cape Town - Cell C Sharks coach Jake White has reportedly lured Saracens and England prop Matt Stevens to play Super Rugby for the Durban franchise.
WIN: Cell C Sharks home Super Rugby tickets!
According to the Daily Mail website, the 31-year-old former Kearsney College pupil will finish off his career in the city where he was born.
Stevens, who can pack down on either side of the scrum, left South Africa to play for Bath in 2002 and made his England debut in 2004.
He played 44 Tests for England and toured on two British and Irish Lions tours (2005 and 2013).
His career has not been without controversy though.
In January 2009 it was confirmed Stevens had failed a drug test after Bath's Heineken Cup match against Glasgow the previous month. He was withdrawn from England’s Six Nations squad for the 2009 tournament and suspended by Bath.
He was banned from rugby for two years on February 26, 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, and on March 5, 2009 announced that he was quitting his club before they sacked him.
In January 2010, he announced he would sign for Saracens upon the completion of his ban.
Stevens will leave Saracens at the completion of the current European season before joining the Cell C Sharks where he will face stiff competition from Springbok props Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis, as well as Lourens Adriaanse who was bought by the Sharks prior to the tournament.
The Heineken Cup final is on the May 24. Stevens' club, Saracens, have made it through to the quarter-finals of the competition where they will play Ulster.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Has the buying of players to help win a title become part and parcel of modern sport? On a scale of 1 to 10, how sad does it make you to see unions look abroad rather than invest in local talent? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
WIN: Cell C Sharks home Super Rugby tickets!
According to the Daily Mail website, the 31-year-old former Kearsney College pupil will finish off his career in the city where he was born.
Stevens, who can pack down on either side of the scrum, left South Africa to play for Bath in 2002 and made his England debut in 2004.
He played 44 Tests for England and toured on two British and Irish Lions tours (2005 and 2013).
His career has not been without controversy though.
In January 2009 it was confirmed Stevens had failed a drug test after Bath's Heineken Cup match against Glasgow the previous month. He was withdrawn from England’s Six Nations squad for the 2009 tournament and suspended by Bath.
He was banned from rugby for two years on February 26, 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, and on March 5, 2009 announced that he was quitting his club before they sacked him.
In January 2010, he announced he would sign for Saracens upon the completion of his ban.
Stevens will leave Saracens at the completion of the current European season before joining the Cell C Sharks where he will face stiff competition from Springbok props Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis, as well as Lourens Adriaanse who was bought by the Sharks prior to the tournament.
The Heineken Cup final is on the May 24. Stevens' club, Saracens, have made it through to the quarter-finals of the competition where they will play Ulster.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Has the buying of players to help win a title become part and parcel of modern sport? On a scale of 1 to 10, how sad does it make you to see unions look abroad rather than invest in local talent? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
