The Bulls are on the verge of securing Malcolm Marx ahead of next season, with negotiations reported to be 90% complete and the deal widely considered a foregone conclusion. Rapport cites sources indicating Marx has been offered a three-year contract at Loftus, where he would reunite with Johan Ackermann. The Bulls moved for Marx following the departure of Esethu Mnebelele to the Sharks, and he would slot into a hooker group that already includes Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Juann Else.
Marx, 32, confirmed earlier this week that the upcoming season with the Kubota Spears will be his last in Japan before returning to South Africa, though he stopped short of naming his destination. The Sharks had also been linked with the 2026 World Rugby Player of the Year, particularly after Bongi Mbonambi's immediate departure to the Stormers. Marx would be the second high-profile former Lions player to follow Ackermann to Pretoria this off-season, after Kwagga Smith's early release from the Blue Revs.
Handre Pollard's situation is less clear-cut. His contract expires at the end of the current season and, while one Bulls source is described as 'positive' about an extension, another notes that Pollard cannot make a final decision until next year. Japanese clubs are reported to be showing particular interest, and Pollard is said to be considering only two options: staying at the Bulls or returning to Japan, where he played for the Red Hurricanes in Osaka in 2015.
On a more certain note, Embrose Papier has re-signed with the Bulls through to the end of the 2027/28 season after months of negotiations. Sale Sharks had been pursuing the scrum-half, and his move abroad had been widely anticipated given his absence from Springbok plans, but the Bulls have kept him in Pretoria.