Malcolm Marx is close to finalising a deal with the Bulls, but another double Rugby World Cup winner could be leaving Loftus Versfeld, according to reports.

Earlier this week, the Springboks hooker announced that he would be playing his final season in Japan with the Kubota Spears before returning to South Africa, opting not to extend his contract beyond the 2026/27 season.

Marx left the Lions in 2019 to join the Shining Arcs in Japan before making the switch to the Spears, playing a pivotal role in their title-winning campaign in 2023.

Malcolm Marx to join the Bulls

While he confirmed that he would be returning to South Africa at the end of the upcoming season, he did not disclose which United Rugby Championship side he would be joining.

The Sharks and Bulls have both been linked with moves for the 2026 World Rugby Player of the Year, with the former in the market for a new front rower following the immediate departure of Bongi Mbonambi to the Stormers. According to Rapport, the Bulls are close to finalising a deal with Marx, who would reunite with Johan Ackermann in Gauteng.

“Negotiations between the 32-year-old hooker and the Bulls are 90% complete,” a source told the Afrikaans publication, which added that it is ‘considered a foregone conclusion that Marx will wear the Bulls blue next year.

The report states that Marx has been offered a three-year contract to join the Pretoria-based club, where he is likely to bring an end to his career. It is further reported that the Bulls opened talks with Marx after the departure of Junior Bok Esethu Mnebelele, a highly rated young hooker, who joined the Sharks.

He is set to add to the already stacked hooker stocks at the Bulls, which currently includes Springboks Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and rising star Juann Else. Ackermann has regularly used versatile forward Marco van Staden in the front row, particularly with Van der Merwe being sidelined since January.

Marx would be another former Lions player to reunite with Ackermann at the Bulls after the club announced the signing of fellow double World Cup winner Kwagga Smith, whose contract at the Blue Revs was terminated to allow him to return to South Africa.

Handre Pollard’s future

Meanwhile, the Bulls are looking to retain the services of Handre Pollard, whose contract expires at the end of the current campaign. According to Rapport, they are facing stiff competition for the fly-half’s signature, with Japanese clubs showing ‘particular’ interest.

One source told the publication that they were ‘positive’ that Pollard would sign an extension at the Bulls, whilst another added that the playmaker ‘cannot make a final decision until next year.’

It’s further stated that Pollard is only considering an extension with the Bulls or a return to Japan, having played for the Red Hurricanes in Osaka back in 2015.

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While his future at Loftus is uncertain, the Bulls have landed a major coup with the report stating that Embrose Papier has re-signed through to the end of the 2027/28 season. The live-wire scrum-half has been a target for PREM Rugby club, the Sale Sharks, recently, but the Bulls have snapped up his signature after ‘months of negotiations’.

It was widely believed that Papier would continue his career overseas because he is not part of the Springboks’ plans, but the Bulls have seemingly convinced him to remain in Pretoria instead.