Rugby: Potgieter returning to the Sharks

Jacques Potgieter of the Waratahs. Photo / Getty Images

Cult hero Jacques Potgieter has penned a heartfelt letter to Waratahs fans to confirm he will leave the Super Rugby champions at the end of season.

Potgieter will return home to South Africa and link with the Durban-based Sharks.

The destructive forward has been integral to the Waratahs' transformation from perennial under-achievers to titleholders, with coach Michael Cheika only last week hailing the 29-year-old as his side's best performer since his arrival at the start of 2104.

"To all my supporters and friends, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for each and every supporter, coach and manager," Potgieter posted on Instagram yesterday.

Potgieter was fined $20,000 by the Australian Rugby Union -- half of which was suspended -- in March for making homophobic slurs against Brumbies players in a heated conference derby in Sydney.

But he was widely commended for the manner in which he accepted responsibility for the slurs, stepping forward to avoid the Waratahs and ARU from triggering a witch hunt.

Potgieter also visited a Sydney Convicts training session the following day to apologise to Australia's only gay rugby club.

"You have accepted me with open arms. The Tahs and Australia felt like my second home," Potgieter wrote.

With marquee imports permitted only two seasons at a Super Rugby franchise, the Waratahs would have required a special exemption to have the former Springbok stay on had he not opted to return home.

"I have decided to sign with the Sharks to go back to my family in South Africa," he wrote.

- AAP