Highly-rated Bulls No.8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze has agreed a deal to join Northampton Saints in the summer.
Talented No.8 will join Northampton from the Bulls
Highly-rated Bulls No.8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze has agreed a deal to join Northampton Saints in the summer.
The 24-year-old, a former IRB Junior Player of the Year nominee, came through the academy system at Loftus Versfeld and made his Super Rugby debut in 2010.
However he is now looking forward to beginning a new adventure at Northampton.
"I'm lucky enough to have got the opportunity to come here and take my career to the next level," he told
SaintsTV.
"We see a lot of the games in South Africa with Saints being one of the biggest clubs, so we all know of the team and how it plays.
Pace
"I'll be filling big boots, that's for sure. But I'll be coming to a club that's very professional and with people who work hard and want to win trophies. I've been very impressed with the club; it's somewhere which can be compared to the best clubs in world rugby."
Saints boss Jim Mallinder is delighted to have agreed a deal with Van Velze - with the South Africa set to fill the void left by Ulster-bound Roger Wilson.
"We've been following Gerrit-Jan's progress for some time and are very happy that he is coming to Franklin's Gardens in the summer," he said.
"He will bring plenty of qualities to our squad - he carries the ball well, has lots of pace and shows good game understanding and leadership."
