Springboks star Malcolm Marx will leave the Lions under a new SA Rugby option for players and staff to break their contracts early in the coronavirus pandemic.
Under new cost-cutting measures, SA Rugby has given players a 21-day window to walk out on their contracts if they wish to.
Japan is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for players with wage security seemingly much higher under the pandemic.
Marx recently returned to South Africa from a sabbatical stint in Japan but is reportedly joining a different Japanese Top League team next season.
Marx is one of five people set to leave the Lions under the contracting loophole, with players Ruan Vermaak, Tyrone Green, Shaun Reynolds and assistant coach Neil de Bruin walking away from the team.
Anyone looking to take up that option had until May 14 to do so but the Lions are the only South African team to officially release the list of departing figures.
SA Rugby on Friday night announced a host of cost-cutting measures under its Financial Impact Plan aimed to save up to $A100 million (R1.2 billion) from their budget.
Employees, players and officials earning more than $A1677 per (R20,000) month will take a 25 per cent cut in salary and the game's top earners will take cuts of up to 43 per cent on a sliding scale.
Those cuts will remain in place for the rest for the year.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said the cuts were severe but necessary to keep the game afloat beyond 2020.
“It was a complex process to find alignment with a number of entities representing 1396 people in the South African rugby industry but throughout everyone collaborated fully,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO.
“The group identified our collective areas of financial risk and what savings had to be made and then identified a plan to mitigate those risks.
“It has meant salary cuts for many, but we have put together a plan that will ensure the industry will be positioned and resourced to get straight back to action just as soon as we are permitted.”
South Africa has cancelled all of its major competitions for 2020 and unlike New Zealand and Australia hasn't confirmed any plans for a modified domestic competition for 2020.
Roux said now that they had finalised their financial cuts, return to play would be the organisation's focus.
“From the moment we went into lockdown we have been preparing and workshopping internal guidelines and protocols for return to play and return to work,”he said.
“Those are complete and are ready to be actioned as soon as we get Government’s go-ahead.
“We have presented our case to the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and believe we have a strong case.
“We do not run hospitals or build ventilators and we are not an industry that is critical to the South African economy; but we do believe that we add huge value to national life in other ways.
“The sight of the Springboks running out for the first time since winning the Rugby World Cup would be a powerful milestone on the nation’s journey to the other side of this crisis as well as being a boost for national morale.
“While the return to play of our provincial teams – even if it is behind closed doors – would similarly be hugely beneficial to a nation in lockdown.
“We understand that there are bigger agendas at play but believe the risk of transmission could be well managed by our protocols. We trust the minister and Government will view our case seriously."
