The Bulls confirm Springbok Warrick Gelant's departure to the Stormers

The Bulls have confirmed that Springboks fullback and birthday boy Warrick Gelant is leaving the Pretoria franchise to join the Stormers in Cape Town.

Gelant‚ whose contract at Loftus expires at the end of July‚ decided against renewing his deal and chose to further his highly promising career in Cape Town with rivals the Stormers.

The 25-year-old‚ who won the World Cup with the Boks last year in Japan‚ joined the Bulls in 2014 and quickly became a crowd favorite with his devastating attack and electrifying side steps.

In his parting shot message Gelant expressed his gratitude to the Bulls for their contribution in his career.

“I sincerely hope to maintain the friendships that I have built here over the years‚” he said.

“I arrived here as a young man with big dreams and the people around me assisted me to build my career and most importantly to live my dreams.

"I sincerely would like to thank each and every individual for making my time here special‚ from the coaches and players‚ to the management and admin staff.

"It feels strange saying goodbye after all these years. Loftus was my home and the people at the Bulls were my family‚ but the time has come for me to move on and enter a new phase of my life.”

Bulls Director of Rugby‚ Jake White wished Gelant well with his career.

“Warrick is an amazing player‚ and there is no doubt that he will excel wherever he goes‚" he said.

"It’s sad to see him go and we would have loved to keep him at Loftus‚ but we fully understand his decision and wish him all of the best with his rugby journey ahead.”

His departure is a blow for the Bulls who recently beefed up the team with the signings of Arno Botha‚ Springbok utility back Gio Aplon‚ Bok prop Marcel van der Merwe and promising lock forward Walt Steenkamp.