Wasps sign Springboks centre Juan De Jongh from Stormers
Tuesday 30 May 2017 13:44, UK
Springboks centre Juan De Jongh will join Wasps from the Stormers at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
The 29-year-old has won 19 caps for South Africa, scoring a try on his debut against Wales in 2010, and was a member of the Sevens team that won bronze at the Rio Olympics.
De Jongh tore his medial collateral ligament in pre-season but has since returned to action and will feature for the South Africa 'A' team when they play the French Barbarians in June.
"I can't wait to play for such an amazing club as Wasps in the Aviva Premiership and am relishing the ultimate challenge that lies ahead," said De Jongh, who has scored 75 points in 94 Super Rugby appearances.
"Wasps has an incredible pedigree and some phenomenal players, and working with everyone there is going to help me improve my game.
"From everything I've heard, Wasps sounds like a fantastic place and a perfect fit for any top end athlete to be. Having watched their last couple of games, I believe there is a lot to look forward to at the club.
"Hopefully I can add some experience and energy to an already well-established and talented side and hopefully we can start pushing towards European and Premiership success. I am 100 per cent focused on what I want to achieve on the field next season and can't wait to get started.
"For the next couple of months, I remain totally committed to the Stormers and to achieving our goals. It would be one of the highlights of my career if I could be part of a team that again reached the Super Rugby finals."
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young is delighted to have secured another international back after the departures of Kurtley Beale and Alapati Leiua and retirement of Nick De Luca.
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"We are really pleased to have Juan coming on board next season," said Young. "He has a good eye for a gap and plenty of pace which makes him dangerous in attack, while he also has strong organisational skills in defence."
He added: "Juan is a good friend of Ashley Johnson whose opinion we respect highly.
"We feel he will fit into the squad really well next season, after we've all dusted ourselves down from the Premiership final defeat and regrouped to prepare to go again for the 2017/18 campaign."
