It’s hard to think of an overseas player who has become so popular so quickly in Scotland as Henco Venter. Glasgow Warriors supporters have taken the South African forward to their hearts and serenaded him on Friday night in what turned out to be his Scotstoun swan-song. It was a moving experience for Venter as he came off in the 72nd minute of the victory over the Stormers which kept his team’s bid to win the United Rugby Championship for the second year in a row very much alive. No club has done that before but Glasgow are now through to the semi-finals, thanks in no small measure to another outstanding performance from their No 8 and cult hero, who scored a try in the 36-18 victory. Alas, a parting of the ways is imminent. Venter is off to France next season to play in the second-tier ProD2. It was announced in March that he would be joining Brive and the news of his departure was a source of regret for Franco Smith as well as the club's fans. The Glasgow Warriors coach wanted him to stay and while he acknowledged that the player had received a very good offer from Brive, “other factors came into play”. The chief one being “a movement in the direction of having less foreigners” in Scottish rugby. Venter, who arrived in Glasgow from the Sharks in summer 2023 and has played 35 times for the club, hopes he has two more games left. The Warriors travel to Dublin to take on Leinster in the URC semis on Saturday and the final is scheduled for the following weekend. He wanted to remain at Glasgow but accepts there is a desire within Murrayfield to try to bring through more homegrown talent. Venter will be joined out the exit door by compatriot JP du Preez and Argentinian winger Sebastian Cancelliere. The appointment by Scottish Rugby last August of performance director David Nucifora was designed “to provide a roadmap for its next decade of player development”. Being South African and 33, Venter isn’t perhaps a poster boy for Nucifora’s brave new world - but his contribution to Glasgow’s success shouldn’t be underestimated. He played a big part in last season’s stunning URC triumph and has also been credited by Smith with an important role in helping bring through young Warriors players like Jack Mann and Euan Ferrie. He has also been a vital team cog during international windows when Glasgow have been without their large Scotland contingent. For Venter, it will be tough to leave. “With Scotland taking the route, as you all know, of less foreign players I wanted to stay but they all made their rules to make Scotland directly better - I respect it,” he said. “It's one of those things, it's rugby. You just go to the next thing, stuff happens and you just keep going forward and make yourself better.” No-one could blame Venter for looking elsewhere when no offer of a new Glasgow contract was forthcoming but circumstances seemed to have worked against the player. The focus was on negotiating new deals for the club’s frontline Scotland players such as Sione Tuipulotu, George Horne, Zander and Matt Fagerson, Kyle Steyn and Stafford McDowall, whose value had increased on the back of their URC success. Approaching the final months of his contract, Venter would have been understandably concerned about his future and the offer from Brive was undeniably attractive. Nevertheless, he will leave Glasgow with a heavy heart. The reception he received from the home support on Friday had a profound effect on him, all the more so because so many of his family and friends were either at Scotstoun or watching back home in South Africa. “You'd never think that would happen,” Venter said of the ovation he received as the supporters sang his name. “I actually didn't know what to do. It was special, very special. I appreciate it a lot. I didn't expect it and to receive something like that is one of the highlights of my career. “My [immediate] family was here [at Scotstoun] and it was televised in South Africa so my whole family saw it. All the people living on our street were also here, all our neighbours.” Venter’s imminent departure also means he is splitting again from Smith, his coach and long-time mentor. The pair had success together in South Africa before lifting silverware with Glasgow “It's the second time that we’ve parted ways and it's not easier than the first time,” said Venter. “Luckily we're not done. There's another game to go and then if we're successful, there's another one.” The game against the Stormers was Venter’s first since returning from a six-game suspension for making contact with the eye of England prop Dan Cole during the win over Leicester in the Champions Cup in early April. It means he missed both of Glasgow’s recent defeats by Leinster, the 52-0 hammering in Europe and the narrow 13-5 loss in the URC. If they are to prolong their season beyond this weekend they are going to have to find a way to win in Dublin. It’s not been a happy place for Glasgow but Venter feels the Warriors are rediscovering their form and if they can match their hosts’ formidable physicality they can progress to the final once again. “Teams go through a bit of a dip here and there but I think after the weekend everyone's dialled in and everyone's ready to go again,” he said. “We are prepared to sacrifice everything to win. “The teams that won in Leinster were always very physical. When South Africa beat Ireland, it's always very physical. I think that's how you must take them on. I think we must have 15 dogs or 23 dogs for 80 minutes and just be very physical and that will do it.”