He featured in a compulsory friendly match prior to the 2009 Currie Cup Premier Division, in which he also made one appearance. The coaching staff at Western Province tried converting Ferreira into a hooker and he was loaned to , where he started as a hooker in their 15–88 defeat to the in Johannesburg. However, he suffered further injury to the vertebrae in his neck and he announced his retirement from rugby at the end of the 2009 season. After completely missing the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Ferreira reversed his decision to retire and rejoined prior to the 2012 season. He played in all ten of their matches in the 2012 Vodacom Cup competition and helped them win the competition for the first time in their history, beating 20–18 in a final that Ferreira started. Ferreira joined Port Elizabeth-based side the on a two-month trial during the 2012 Currie Cup First Division, which later turned into a permanent deal. After making his debut for the Eastern Province Kings in a match against a South African Students team, he made ten appearances for the Eastern Province Kings in the competition – starting all of those – as they topped the log to qualify for the title play-offs. Ferreira scored his first try for his new team in a 50–27 victory over the in the semi-final and also helped them to victory in the final, starting the match as they beat the 26–25 to win the title for the second time in their history. He missed out on the first leg of their promotion/relegation play-off series against the , but returned for the second leg, but the EP Kings lost both matches to remain in the First Division. In 2013, Ferreira was named in squad for their first season of Super Rugby. He started in their historic first ever match, helping them secure a 22–10 victory over Australian side the . He firmly established himself as their first-choice loosehead prop, starting in the Kings' first 15 matches in the competition. He scored his first ever Super Rugby try in Round Eight of the competition in a match that saw the Kings pick up their first points away from home in the competition in a 28–28 draw against eventual Australian Conference winners the in Canberra. Ferreira also tasted victory in their matches against the a week later and against the in their first ever bonus point victory, but it was not enough to prevent the new franchise from finishing bottom of the South African Conference, and in the process qualifying to a relegation play-off series against the .