Crowe to sell stake in rugby club, says beard is gone

• Actor to sell shares in South Sydney Rabbitohs
• Club officials applaud contributions
• Oscar winner has just finished filming 'Noah'

Russell Crowe is getting some big props from the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Australian rugby club in which he has a stake.

Club Chairman Nicholas Pappas has confirmed that the Oscar-winning actor will seek to sell his share in the club at the end of the 2013 season.

"It's a great opportunity," Pappas said "to applaud Russell Crowe's significant contribution to the turnaround in this club that many of you have witnessed with us. It's not only a turnaround in the club's internal fortunes. It's a turnaround in the club's respectability, its standing in the game, the way it's treated by its peers."

Crowe sent out a message to Twitter followers over the weekend about his plans: "South Sydney FC in a great place. Money in the bank, long term contracts with star players, excellent coach. Don't listen to panic merchants."

Pappas noted that Crowe's decision is a personal one that comes after 18 months of work commitments have kept the actor busy. "There's a personal equation here," Pappas said.

Australian media outlets reported about a month ago that Crowe, 48, and wife Danielle Spencer had split.

Looks like the rugby team announcement comes at a time of physical transition for Crowe, who had been almost unrecognizable in a beard for some time while working on a movie production.

The actor tweeted late Saturday night: "Tonight I have no beard. Tonight I am released and Noah has ceased and the new eden can thrive without me."

That's right. Crowe is set to star in director Darren Aronofsky's film Noah, set for release in 2014.