Bulls wing in high demand in France

Cape Town - The Bulls may have a fight on their hands to keep the services of talented wing Travis Ismaiel.

A report on Netwerk24 indicates that Ismaiel is in high demand in France, with several clubs believed to be eager to lure the 24-year-old abroad after this year’s Super Rugby competition.

Ismaiel was one of the Bulls’ star performers in last year’s Super Ruby competition and the Pretoria franchise would need to fork out large amounts to prevent him from seeking greener pastures.

This comes after news broke earlier in the week that loose forward Arno Botha will leave the Bulls at the end of this year’s Super Rugby competition.

Botha, 25, will link up with Irish club Ulster.

"Arno received a very good offer from Ulster. We have been in constant discussions with Arno about his future since 2016,” the union’s high performance manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg, said via a press statement.

“We want to thank him for his contribution, we are thankful and proud of what he has done. The situation is that we can’t financially make an offer close to what he’s currently earning. Luckily we have great players coming through that we will be investing in.

“He is still a big player for us in the coming months and we are expecting some meaningful contributions from him as we embark on a tough Super Rugby campaign."

There are more than 300 South Africans playing professional rugby abroad, with the numbers seemingly increasing.

It was also announced earlier in the week that Stormers fullback Cheslin Kolbe would join French club Toulouse later this year, while the Cape side’s star centre, Huw Jones, may join the Glasgow Warriors.