Van Straaten stuns Leeds by returning home

Braam Van Straaten means a lot to Leeds – 200-plus points in 16 Premiership outings and a midfield defence as tight as a tourniquet would be very decent returns on anyone's investment – so it is safe to assume the Yorkshiremen did not throw a party when news emerged from the far side of the equator of the former Springbok goal-kicker's plans to return home the moment his contract expires in June. "Let's just say we're a little surprised," said a club official yesterday, through gritted teeth.

According to reports down Cape Town way, the 31-year-old Currie Cup winner craves the "superior lifestyle" on offer in South Africa – a view apparently shared by Brendan Venter, Robbie Kempson and Pieter Rossouw, three Bokke types who have either quit British rugby to return home, or are about to do so. But like Kempson, Van Straaten almost certainly has another motive: selection for the World Cup in Australia this autumn.

Kempson is bound to figure in the thinking of the Springbok coach, Rudi Straeuli, because South Africa have run out of half-decent props. By the same yardstick, Van Straaten's exceptional marksmanship would be of enormous benefit to a nation scratching around for kickers capable of hitting a barn door from a dozen yards. Earlier in the season, Van Straaten said he had recovered his appetite for international rugby – "I would love to play for the Boks again and I believe I could bring something to the Test team; with a 80-90 per cent kicker, South Africa could win the World Cup," he pronounced – but doubted whether his country would pick him from his hideaway in the Pennines. It now appears he is sparing them the decision.

He plays for Leeds at Sale this afternoon, an important game for the Tykes as they attempt to consolidate their hard-earned place in the top half of the Premiership. Phil Davies, the coach, must do without Dan Hyde, his most effective open-side specialist – Alix Popham, once one of the great hopes of Welsh rugby, fills in for the injured flanker – but has been able to include George Harder, that brick outhouse of a Samoan wing, for the first time since the home victory over Northampton in mid-November.

After all the talk of wage cuts and redundancies and pending financial crises among the Premiership élite, it seems perverse to suggest that club rugby in England has never been more popular. Yet Sale expect a full house for today's fixture, while the Bath- Northampton match at the Recreation Ground is a confirmed sell-out. Tomorrow, Bristol take on Gloucester having broken their record for advance ticket sales, while Newcastle expect their biggest crowd of the season for the visit of Leicester. And then there is the London Irish-Harlequins set-to in Reading, where anything up to 18,000 spectators are expected through the gates.

Clive Woodward, the England coach, will head for the West Country to watch Paul Grayson, whose recent form for Northampton has won him a place in the red rose squad for next week's Calcutta Cup match. Woodward will also be interested in Mike Catt's efforts at centre, following the Bath midfielder's recovery from hamstring problems. Catt's reappearance is likely to elbow a reluctant Kevin Maggs towards the left wing and, by extension, increase speculation that the forthright Bristolian will up sticks and head for Ireland at the end of the season.

With the relegation congestion as heavy as it is, there can be no decisive development this weekend. But the trio of strugglers from the London division – Saracens, Harlequins and London Irish – are in something resembling free-fall. Sarries have lost five of their last six Premiership games, Quins have lost three on the bounce, and the Exiles have suffered successive defeats plus a horrible Powergen Cup semi-final reverse at the hands of Northampton. Tomorrow has a must-win ring about it for all of them.

Any confusion as to the importance of the weekend was dispelled yesterday when Wayne Shelford, perhaps the most quixotic selector in the tournament, abandoned his flights of fancy and named the strongest available Saracens side for the home game with Wasps. Castaignède will play at stand-off, Horan at full-back, Bracken at scrum-half and Johnston at centre. It makes sense... and not before time.