The Vodacom Bulls continued their retention spree of announcing player extensions on Thursday by concluding a renewal with World Cup-winning Springbok flanker Marco van Staden.
Van Staden joins David Kriel, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Ruan Vermaak who have all announced contract extensions in the past few days and a few months after the contracts of flankers Cameron Hanekom and Celimpilo Gumede were extended.
Van Staden, better known as “Eskom”, has become a cult figure at Loftus Versfeld and the Bulls were very happy to see him extend his time at Loftus Versfeld.
The 28-year-old returned to Loftus in 2021 after spending time with English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and signed an initial two-year deal.
“I think this club will always be like my family and Loftus will always be my home. This is where my professional career started and it will always be a place that is close to my heart. The opportunity to extend is a privilege and to stay for even longer, I am excited to see what is ahead for me and my family,” said Van Staden.
“I have a few top memories like my first Super Rugby match, winning the Currie Cup straight after Covid when this current group started to come together and the other top memory is having my parents at every game since I started to play at the under-21s, every weekend I play they never miss a game” he added.
Van Staden said family was a big influence in his decision to remain playing in South Africa but also the current Vodacom Bulls environment.
“I am very happy at the Bulls and where I am at this stage in my life. Both myself and my wife are very happy to be in Pretoria and are excited to be a part of this team and to stay a part of it for the next few years.
“For us a group that keeps getting better and stronger and tighter, playing even better rugby; there will always be room for improvement and we will start to improve in all areas of the game, on and off the field and I think we will become even better and start to dominate as a club even more across the Champions Cup and the VURC.”