Bulls confirm Akker van der Merwe, Willie le Roux signings | The Citizen

The Bulls continued to bolster their ranks in this off-season as they confirmed the signings of hooker Akker van der Merwe and fullback Willie le Roux.

Van der Merwe, a three-cap Springbok, and Le Roux, a 2019 World Cup winner, have both signed for three years.

The signatures of the experienced players continues the off-season signing spree by the Bulls.

Recruitment

Director of rugby Jake White has so far also recruited flyhalf Jaco van der Walt, winger Sergeal Petersen, prop Khutha Mchunu, flanker Celimpilo Gumed, winger Sebastian de Klerk and Test prop Wilco Louw.

The Bulls fell below standards last season in the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, and have set out to beef up their squad for the new season.

Van der Merwe’s and Le Roux’s acquisition will help the Bulls in their quest in Europe with their experience of playing in the English Premiership and in Japan respectively, a major boost.

‘Thrilled’

Bulls Chief Executive Officer, Edgar Rathbone, is confident that Van der Merwe will be a valuable addition to the Bulls.

“We are thrilled to have Akker join us and a player of his skill and calibre will be a wonderful addition for our franchise as we continue evolving and set our eyes on success across the various competitions,” said Rathbone in a media statement.

“He is also a well-travelled player that has continuously done well wherever he has played and that speaks of a resilient character that will be of great help to our younger players too. I know he is a player who is keen to give as much as he can, and his know-how will be invaluable for us,”

“We welcome him to the capital and hope that he will have a wonderful time running out with the herd in blue,” he concluded.

Regarding Le Roux, Rathbone said: “Willie is a world-class player with so much experience behind him. Our stable is sure to benefit from having a player with more than 83 caps for his national side. Moreover, we believe that his wealth of experience will really add more stability to our backline.”