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Published 09:54 31 Aug 2016 BST
Updated 09:58 31 Aug 2016 BST
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So Pienaar will follow in the reluctant footsteps of Paul Warwick and Nick Williams and make a new home for himself and his family outside of Ireland.
The Springbok scrum-half issued a statement, via the club, this morning and stressed that leaving Belfast was the last thing he wanted. He commented:
"I am not moving on for a new adventure or for financial reasons - I wanted to stay and I know that Ulster Rugby did everything it could to keep me in Belfast. Ulster is special to me and my family now, and I would like to thank my wife, Monique, for coming here to support me and for helping to make it home for us... "The club has given me a lot and I'd like to be in a position to give something back in the future if possible. "I have many great memories of my time here and I have made some brilliant friends within rugby and outside of it. It is sad that this will be my last season as an Ulster player but I will be doing everything to ensure that we make it a successful campaign."Kiss hopes Pienaar may return to Belfast in future years to take up a coaching or developmental role. "I have absolutely no doubt that he will give everything to the Ulster cause for the rest of the season," Kiss added. As for Ulster, they have Paul Marshall [32 next season] and a couple of young prospects, Dave Shanahan and Angus Lloyd, as their listed senior squad 9s. James Hart [Grenoble] may be an option for next season but don't be surprised if the province sources a young scrum-half from New Zealand or South Africa over the coming months. The new GAA Hour football podcast is here. Listen to Colm Parkinson, Senan Connell, and Barry Cahill dissect a classic between Dublin and Kerry. Subscribe here on iTunes.
Fans tear into Leo Cullen after the Leinster boss slams media actions
A war of words! Following Leinster’s defeat of Toulon yesterday, head coach Leo Cullen took advantage of the situation to rub it into what he perceives as an unfair media. Despite continued appearances in Champions Cup finals and a semi-final loss to Northampton last year, as well as URC titles, Leinster do face their fair […]
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Brilliant footage shows Toulon doing training drills on Dublin street ahead of Leinster loss
This is great! Ahead of their Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster this afternoon at the Aviva Stadium, Toulon were seen training in a rather unusual spot. Instead of a field or the gym, they were filmed on a Dublin street doing maul drills, while others causally tossed the ball around. It is unclear exactly where […]
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