**Ruan Pienaar has been the focus of attention for the Belfast rugby media building up to his team’s Guinness PRO14 clash with Ulster on Saturday but although it will be an emotional homecoming for him the Toyota Cheetahs captain is determined to ruin the mood of his former supporters.** Pienaar, capped 88 times for the Springboks, played for Ulster from 2010 to 2017 before heading to French club Montpellier for two years. He never left Belfast because he wanted to but because the Ireland Rugby Football Union wanted home grown players to be promoted and he has admitted that his wife, who has stayed home in South Africa, has been very jealous of him being back in their former home city. Pienaar has hinted before that he would like to return to Ulster in a coaching capacity one day and he didn’t rule out the possibility when asked the question this week. “It brings a lot of memories and good feelings when you drive into Belfast and my wife is very jealous that I am back here,” said Pienaar. “We will see what the future holds. I am coming to the end of my playing career and our time in the next few years is in South Africa, but we’ll see.” Pienaar’s Cheetahs team kick off the local interest in the PRO14 when they face Ulster on Saturday night and the Isuzu Southern Kings follow up on Sunday evening when they visit Scarlets in Wales. Of the two teams, the Cheetahs have the most to play for as they are in a close battle for play-off qualification both with Saturday night’s opponents and with Glasgow Warriors.
