By Graham Thomas
The Scarlets continue to beef up their pack with South African produce after signing former Springboks prop Werner Kruger on a three-year deal.
Kruger, 31, will join in the summer and follows the import of countryman David Bulbring, who made his debut against Edinburgh last Friday.
He will become the fourth South African-born player in the current squad, alongside lock George Earle and wing DTH van der Merwe.
Kruger, currently with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria, will fill the void left by tight-head Rhodri Jones’s decision to move to the Ospreys and will compete for the No.3 shirt with current Wales first choice Samson Lee.
Kruger has been a regular in the Bulls pack, making 113 Super Rugby appearances and was part of the Bulls team that won both the 2009 and 2010 Super 14 finals.
The Bloemfontein-born tighthead represented South Africa Under 21s on six occasions in 2005-06 before going on to play for the Emerging Sprinboks (2009) and South Africa (2010 tour), winning four senior international caps in 2011-12.
Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac said: “We’re pleased to announce that Werner will join us ahead of the forthcoming 2016-17 season. He will further strengthen us at the set piece and will bring vast experience having played both sides of the scrum.
“To have a player of Werner’s experience available for the whole season is something we haven’t had for some time. His presence here at Parc y Scarlets will be a huge plus for the young tightheads developing through the region.”
Kruger said: “The option with the Scarlets is the right one for me at this stage of my career. I always wanted to play abroad and this offer comes at the right time.
“I know I still have something to offer the Bulls this season and then help Scarlets in their drive to improve as a team.
“Both me and my family are really looking forward to this next chapter at Parc y Scarlets. I believe the time ahead will be a time for growth and learning.
“We are especially looking forward to experiencing all that the Welsh have to offer, making a difference and playing great rugby.”
