Top 14 Orange
Kruger swaps Bulls for Metro
ESPN Staff
December 18, 2012
Juandre Kruger takes the ball during Bulls training, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa, March 21, 2012
Juandre Kruger will play in the Top 14 next term © Getty Images
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Springboks lock Juandre Kruger will leave the Bulls at the end of the 2013 Super Rugby season to take up a contract in the Top 14 with Racing Metro.

Former Northampton lock Kruger has accrued eight caps for the Boks having made his debut against England back in June but he will now ply his trade in France. Fellow Boks international Bryan Habana has been linked with a switch to Toulon and could play against Kruger in the Top 14 next term.

"It is always good to know and to hear that your players are wanted all over the world, but unfortunately it is not always possible to hold on to them once those offers start coming in," Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said. "With the exchange rate as it is at the moment, it is very difficult to remain on level terms with those clubs when it comes to contract talks.

"We were very keen to extend his contract, but financially it was just not possible. We are very happy for Juandrè, as it is a great offer he received, but that left us in an unfortunate position that we could not match it."

And Ludeke is adamant that Kruger will remain fully committed to the Bulls next season despite having opted to move on after the campaign. "Juandrè is a real pro and I know we can still expect a 110% effort from him," Ludeke said. "We sat down as a group recently to discuss our goals and objectives for 2013 and I am very confident that we will get an exceptional contribution from Juandrè right till the last game of our season."

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