Zimbabwe-born South African lock leaves Italy for England

South African lock Eli Snyman will move to English Premiership side Leicester Tigers at the end of the season, his Italian club Treviso announced Monday.

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Zimbabwe-born Eli Snyman arrived in Italy in the summer of 2019 from the Bulls in South Africa, playing 22 times for the PRO14 side.

“I’m very grateful to the club for the opportunity it has given me over these two years,” said the 25-year-old.

“It has not been any easy season from a sporting point of view due to various circumstances.”

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Treviso have lost all 12 of their PRO14 fixtures and lie bottom of Group B. 

Sports director Antonio Pavanello did not try to hide his disappointment at having the two-metre tall lock, who played for South Africa U20s in the 2016 Junior World Cup, prised away.

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“We’re definitely sorry and almost annoyed to lose a player like Snyman, a young profile with excellent qualities that we discovered before any other European club,” said Pavanello.

“He will go to play in a prestigious club and we wish him the best.”

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Leicester Tigers on Monday also confirmed the signing of Bulls and Springbok loose forward Marco van Staden.