ULSTER Rugby has today confirmed that Ruan Pienaar will leave the club at the end of the 2016/17 season.
The club and the player were very keen for him to extend his stay in Belfast, with Operations Director Bryn Cunningham and Director of Rugby Les Kiss working with the IRFU over the past six months to reach a desirable outcome.
Unfortunately, a contract extension was not possible due to the IRFU's succession policy.
Pienaar has scored 777 points in 118 competitive games for Ulster to date and he was a starring member of the squad that reached the 2012 Heineken Cup final.
Commenting on the move, Pienaar said: "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.”
