Koster left the Toyota Cheetahs towards the end of 2017 to link up with French Pro D2 team, Grenoble. It was expected that he would link up with this former Cheetahs team-mate and captain, Francois Uys, in the second-row.

However, his dreams of playing in France were crushed even before playing a single game for the club.

During his medical at the Grenoble, a scan revealed that a disc in his neck was putting pressure on his spinal cord. This led to Koster failing his medical and the club terminating his contract.

In December, Koster, underwent surgery to rectify the problem. The choice was simple. Have the procedure or face the possibly of never playing rugby again.

Following his surgery, Koster, informed OFM Sport that he and his agent were busy weighing up his options.

“I had to undergo surgery. My other option was to stop playing. My agent and I are already busy exploring which options are available,” said Koster.

Read: Grenoble terminate former Cheetah's contract

Six months down the line and Koster has a new lease on this playing carrier. According to a source, Koster, is heading to Bayonne, who also play in the French Pro D2 league.

Koster confirmed that his is heading to Bayonne and he is eager to prove that he has recovered from the injury.

"Yes, that little bird of your is quick. I got the offer recently, so yes, I'm heading back to France.

"I'm very excited to go and to show that my neck is fine."

The will be some familiar faces for Koster at Bayonne as he will become the third former Cheetah in the current squad. Recently the club secured the services of the Cheetahs and Namibian international hooker, Torsten van Jaarsveld. On Tuesday, Van Jaarsveld, and another Bayonne player, PJ van Lill, were named in the Namibian squad for the upcoming 2019 Rugby World Cup Africa 1 qualifiers.

The former Cheetahs and University of Pretoria Tuks flyhalf, Willie du Plessis, is also plying his trade at the club. After leaving the Cheetahs in 2015 following a fairly unsuccessful spell, Du Plessis, played 7 games for Toulon, before moving to Bayonne where he has notched up close to 40 games already.

The former Junior Springbok and current Bayonne loose-forward, Aidon Davis, has already signed a contract with the Cheetahs, with his tenure in Bloemfontein starting on 1 July.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport