Stormers’ Kebble heads to Scotland

Western Province has confirmed that Stormers prop Oli Kebble will join Scottish club Glasgow at the end of the year.

Western Province Rugby Group CEO Paul Zacks said Kebble would leave the union after the 2017 season‚ which includes the Currie Cup.

The 24-year-old former Junior Springbok made his Stormers debut in 2014 and has 34 Super Rugby caps.

The move to Glasgow will not be Kebble’s first to the UK as he has studied at Dulwich College in London and been part of the London Irish Academy.

Kebble‚ son of Springbok prop Guy‚ was a member of the 2012 SA Under-20 team that won the Junior World Championships on home soil.

The younger Kebble appears to be throwing in his lot with the Scots in trying to become an international.

He has clearly spotted a loophole in the regulations. In 2012, the Junior Boks became SA Rugby’s designated “second” team‚ which means caps earned at junior international level deny a player the chance of playing for another country.

But at the time‚ SA Rugby said the restriction would apply only if the opposition had also designated their under-20s as the nation’s “second” team. None of the five opponents the Junior Boks faced in 2012 had their under-20s as a “second” team‚ so Kebble is free to play for Scotland once he has served a threeyear residency.