Bath close in on Dan du Preez signing; second prop heads for exit door

PREM Rugby champions Bath are now believed to have won the race to sign Sale Sharks No.8 Dan du Preez, but look like losing their vastly experienced loose-head Francois van Wyk to Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht.

Bath appear to have been successful in their last-minute bid to snatch Du Preez from under the noses of Durban-based URC outfit, The Sharks, who had lined him up to replace Springbok superstar Siya Kolisi, who is off to the Stormers.

He becomes the last of the three Du Preez brothers to leave the Manchester outfit. Fly-half Rob is off to Bayonne in the Top 14 next season, while Jean-Luc moved to Bordeaux in the summer.

Meanwhile, Bath have started their search for another loose-head with Van Wyk, who will be 35 next July, set to join tighthead Thomas du Toit, who has agreed to a move to the Sharks, in leaving The Rec when his contract runs out.

Van Wyk started his career with Western Province and Western Force, but has played in the Gallagher PREM since 2017, when he joined Northampton Saints, spending four years at Franklin’s Garden.

He then moved across the East Midlands to sign for Leicester Tigers, where he made 55 appearances and started their 2024 Premiership Rugby Cup final 23-13 defeat to Gloucester at Kingsholm.

Van Wyk joined Bath ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign and came off the bench in their Challenge Cup and PREM Rugby Final victories over Lyon and his former club, the Tigers.

He could become Connacht’s second new arrival ahead of next season, with Ireland fly-half Ciarán Fawley set to make the switch across the country from Leinster when his contract runs out this summer.