Wannenburg reluctantly prepares to say goodbye

Ulster still have an amount of considerably important business to see to this season but the annual round of farewells that is a part of life at all clubs begins tonight with Leinster’s visit to Ravenhill.

The manner in which coach Brian McLaughlin has been asked to step aside and into a role with the province’s academy is well-known by now but Pedrie Wannenburg’s departure from Belfast is yet another example of the harsh realities of modern professional sport.

The South African has been less heralded than his countrymen Johann Muller and Ruan Pienaar since his arrival in Ireland but his input in the second row has not been underestimated by those who have watched him over the last two years.