And so former Springbok captain John Smit is the latest to join the exodus abroad. This time it is English Premiership side Saracens who have recruited the services of the front row forward, who hung up his international boots following the disappointing exit from the World Cup at the hands of Australia last month.

But the prop insists he isn’t in England to bump up his retirement fund, but to add to his already impressive personal haul of medals.

“There are two types of players who have come here from the southern hemisphere,” he told The Evening Standard. “There are the guys who want to come here and make a life here. Those guys have invariably done well and proven to be an asset to their clubs.

“You have had other guys who have come here and sat around and not paid the Premiership that respect. I’m fully aware of that, and it’s not my intention. For someone who has played as long as I have, the last thing I want is for people to say I came here for two or three years and just sat around.

“Speaking frankly, there are many clubs someone like me could have gone to, jumped on the boat and seen how far it would take me. Saracens is not that kind of club. This is a dynamic club making huge inroads, and one that has been hugely successful over the past two years.”

To be fair to Smit if he was looking for a free ride into retirement he could have chosen an easier club to do it with. Reigning Premiership champions, Sarries are coached by Brendan Venter, the former Springbok with a reputation as a hard task masker as a coach. Venter  is the heartbeat of the club that he has built in his image, and it is unlikely that Smit will be allowed to sail through a year or two in the northern hemisphere without getting his hands dirty.

But Venter already has Matt Stevens, Carlos Nieto, Dean Carstens as well as and fellow South African international hooker Schalk Brits in Saracens Rugby Shirts, so what does Smit bring that those talented guys can’t?

It is of course his experience. Brits has carved a career out in England as one of the most dynamic front row forwards out there despite being largely ignored by his countrymen, while Matt Stevens continued his re-integration into rugby after serving his lengthy drug ban, but both men remain a little rough round the edges and there can be no finer man to learn from than Smit.

So even if his time on the pitch is minimal and on face value his move may end up seeming a late mad dash for cash, but with Saracens there to be shot at as reigning champions, Smit may be able to have more influence than even he would have thought possible when he joined the club.