Ruan Ackermann is reportedly in advanced talks with a South African franchise following his release by Gloucester.
The loose forward joined the English club along with his father, coach Johann, from the Lions in 2017, and went on to make more than 170 appearances across all competitions.
Ackermann, whose lucrative move to the Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan was blocked by Gloucester last year, was one of 19 players who left Kingsholm at the end of the 2024-25 season.
“I’m getting to a stage now in my life where there was a feeling from the club and me that I feel I needed to go,” he recently told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. “It’s more the reality sank in the last two or three months when you say to them, ‘I probably need to move on’.
“The club has got their ambitions, and mine has changed a bit because of how things are going, and [you have to] try to accept it.”
MORE: I needed to go – Ackermann
According to RugbyPass, Ackermann – who had been tipped to play for England at one stage – is talking to the Stormers about a possible return to South Africa.
The website claims that Stormers director of rugby John Dobson regards the 29-year-old as an ideal replacement for Divan Fuller, who is set to miss the first half of the 2025-26 season with a hip injury.
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