Jaco van der Walt admitted leaving Edinburgh last summer after six years in the capital was a bitter pill to swallow, but acknowledged the time had come for a new challenge.
The fly-half, who won four caps for Scotland after qualifying on residency grounds, was a mainstay of the team during Richard Cockerill’s tenure but was confined to a bit-part role in the latter stages of Mike Blair’s time in charge.
Blair’s penchant for all-out attacking rugby saw Blair Kinghorn shifted into the number 10 position, with van der Walt confined to covering fly-half and fullback from the bench.
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“It was frustrating,” the 30-year-old conceded;.
“You want to play and you want guys to back you, especially the coach, and it was difficult with Mike because I wasn’t the player he wanted, but that’s rugby.
“You move on and I’m fortunate that I did get the offer from the Bulls.
“Mike is a very nice guy, but regarding the game time it was not ideal.
“I loved Edinburgh and the club. I’m not complaining at all because I had a great time there and it would have been nice to stay on.
“Sometimes you get to certain crossroads and you need to make changes. Unfortunately it was my turn."
It is more than a year since Van der Walt and his wife Siobhan packed their bags and headed back to South Africa.
If the fly-half had suffered from a knock in confidence after playing just 205 minutes during his final season with Edinburgh, his first campaign with the Bulls was equally trying as he managed only 20 minutes more on the field, and just two starts all season.
But he got valuable game-time during the Currie Cup – the top South African domestic competition – and has helped guide the Pretoria-based team into semi-finals.
“Getting more game time in the Currie Cup helps a lot,” said van der Walt.
“There’s a lot of depth in the Bulls squad but the guys who didn’t get games in the URC are playing [Currie Cup] and I think it helps a lot. There more you play, the better you get.
“You want to be involved in the URC, it’s a massive competition. At Edinburgh I played most of the games, but it [being left out for the final] is part of rugby. You need to work hard to get game time but playing Currie Cup does help build up that confidence again.
But the Bulls' run was ended there after a thrilling 40-40 draw with the Sharks in the last four clash; the Durban team advancing on a try countback after the 100 minutes.
It all means van der Walt is available for the visit of his former side this Saturday, and he’s looking forward to catching up with old friends.
He added: “I’ll definitely catch up with the boys. I’ve already spoken so some of them – it will be good to see them.
“We speak a lot. I was invited to Chris Dean’s wedding – we couldn’t go which was a shame – but I speak to the boys a lot, especially Duhi [Duhan van der Merwe] and Pierre [Schoeman]."
There is a sense of disappointment when van der Walt talks about his short stint with the national team. His debut came against Ireland in the 2020 Autumn Nations Series, but his final cap came just months later, off the bench in a Six Nations thrashing of Italy at Murrayfield.
“I would have loved to play more for Scotland,” Van der Walt said.
“I stayed there six years and was quite invested in the set-up, but I’m very grateful I got the opportunity because I met lifelong friends.
“Edinburgh and Scotland has got a soft spot in my heart.”
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