Boshoff was recently released from his contract with Connacht on humanitary reasons on his wish to return to South Africa following the death of his father.

He now joins the Blue Bulls and will return to Pretoria, where he played most of his junior career, till 2019 and will be immediately available.

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Venter, who makes the short trip over the Jukskei River, was a standout for the Golden Lions during the recent Provincial Challenge. He has also joined on a two-year contract until 2019.

Olympic bronze medalist and Blitzbok Agaba has joined the Bulls' ranks after recovering from an ankle injury.

Bulls High-Performance manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg also confirmed the extension of contracts of a number of high profile players.

Current Springbok squad member, Lizo Gqoboka and South Africa A lock, Jason Jenkins, both extended their contracts till 2019, while highly rated scrumhalf Andre Warner and wing Duncan Matthews also extended their Loftus Versfeld stay. Warner signed till 2019 and Matthews till 2020.

Current Junior Springbok prop, Gerhard Steenekamp, also opted for two more years in Pretoria.

"This is pretty exciting times for us. Not only are we getting players of international calibre confirming their confidence in our structures, but we also see current players expressing their desire to build and extend their careers with us.

"This is a humbling endorsement of the process underway in Pretoria. We are hoping to build something special and with quality players like these who just put pen to paper, the results will be seen sooner, rather than later," Janse van Rensburg said.

New contracts: Marnitz Boshoff (Flyhalf/fullback), Jano Venter (Loose forward) till 2019; Tim Agaba (Loose forward) – all until 2019.

Contract extensions: Lizo Gqoboka, Jason Jenkins, Andre Warner, Gerhard Steenekamp (all 2019), Duncan Matthews (2020).

@BlueBullsRugby

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