During the first half of last year, Sanele Nohamba was widely hailed as one the most in-form players in South African rugby, with the diminutive playmaker having consistently excelled for the Lions after making a transition from scrumhalf to flyhalf.
Nohamba dazzled with his pace, sidestep, X factor and goal-kicking ability, which led to widespread calls for the Springboks to consider calling him up to the national side.
Rassie Erasmus even admitted that the utility back was very much on the radar, but ultimately Nohamba didn’t crack the nod during the 2024 Test season at a time when the scrumhalf position was well covered, while he may not have been viewed as physical or experienced enough to be an option at 10.
During the second half of last year, Nohamba suddenly found himself relegated predominantly to a place on the Lions bench, and subsequently it was suddenly announced that the 26-year-old had been granted an early release from his current contract and would continue his club career in Japan.
Now in a bombshell exclusive with Rugby365, Nohamba revealed the real reasons why he left the Lions and South Africa, having also highlighted that he felt he wasn’t getting any “straight answers” when enquiring about his diminished game time at the Johannesburg-based franchise.
“I said [to the Lions] you give me XYZ then I will stay for one more year. They said you are asking way too much. Then I said I can do two more years.
“Then I showed them the proposals I got from Japan and Edinburgh and all of these other clubs. But the offer from Japan was three times more. So it made it difficult for me to stay.
“I can go and make money instead of staying in the country for nothing,” he added.
“It was disappointing to come out here every day [to training]. It wasn’t even difficult to get an early release,” he further revealed.
DO YOU THINK SANELE NOHAMBA SHOULD HAVE BEEN BACKED TO PLAY FOR THE SPRINGBOKS LAST YEAR?
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Reminder: Bok fixtures in 2025:
One-off fixture:
Likely end of June: Barbarians
Incoming Series:
5 July: SA v Italy – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12 July: SA v Italy – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
19 July: SA v Georgia – Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Rugby Championship:
16 August: SA v Australia – Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
23 August: SA v Australia – DHL Stadium, Cape Town
6 September: New Zealand v SA – Eden Park, Auckland
13 September: New Zealand v SA – Sky Stadium, Wellington
27 September: SA v Argentina SA v Argentina – Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
4 October: Argentina v SA – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London
Expected end-of-year matches (*still to be confirmed)
1 November: vs Wales, Cardiff
8 November: vs France, Paris
15 November: vs Italy, Turin
22 November: vs Ireland, Dublin
