Former Springbok flank Schalk Burger will leave Saracens at the end of the season and return to South Africa.
Burger, who earned 86 Test caps for the Boks, made his debut for the English club in September 2016.
According to RugbyPass, the 35-year-old is considering one more short-term deal, most likely in Japan, before hanging up his boots.
‘I will be finishing up with Saracens at the end of this season and I am looking at all kinds of options to see if they can work out,’ Burger told the website.
‘Retiring completely is also one of the options. We are moving back to Cape Town and if I do anything else playing-wise it would be short term because something like another Premiership season is a big commitment to make.’
Meanwhile, Burger said he remained concerned about the future of South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises, which continue to be weakened by players heading overseas.
‘The problem for the franchises at home is that you have young players coming through and by the third season they head off to France and there are between 350-400 South African professional players operating outside of the country. Something will have to give in South Africa to change the situation and the current system is under massive pressure.
‘It’s not good news for the fans when you lose a lot of Springboks who move abroad. One of the reasons why the crowds are dwindling for Super Rugby games is because there is such a turnover of players in the squads. Fans want to relate to the player and the jersey and here at Saracens there are many players who have played 100 or 200 games for the club and there is a familiarity. This is an issue in South Africa with every squad having six or seven new faces every season.’
