Saracens sign Van Heerden

Bulls and Springbok flanker Wikus van Heerden has signed with Saracens and will join the English club in November.

Bulls and Springbok flanker Wikus van Heerden has signed with Saracens and will join the English club in November.

Van Heerden will join fellow Springboks Neil de Kock, Brent Russell and Cobus Visagie at Vicarage Road after he has seen out his contract with the Bulls.

The openside flanker joined the Bulls from Gauteng rivals the Lions in 2006 and under the guidance of the coaching staff at Loftus evolved into a world-class openside, earning a Springbok call-up from Jake White for the 2007 Tri-Nations and World Cup.

The Business and Communication manager of the Blue Bulls Company, Ian Schwartz, said Van Heerden's move is a massive loss for the Bulls but they will honour his decision.

“When he signed with us at the end of 2006, he indicated that he wanted to play for the Bulls for two years after which he would like to further his career in Europe,” Schwartz said on the Bulls website.

“Therefore, we contracted Jacques Burger in 2007 knowing that they will be able to play alongside one another in this year's Currie Cup.

“We did, however, try to keep Wikus at Loftus Versfeld.

“He was awe-inspiring in 2007 and is one of a handful of players who has a Super 14 as well as a World Cup medal. He continued his good form in 2008's Super 14 and it will be very difficult for the national selectors to ignore him.

“Wikus is an unbelievable team player, leader, thinker and the perfect example for younger players as to what it means to be professional.

“We wish him all the best for the future and we know that success with be inevitable at Saracens. Our loss is their gain.”

Van Heerden follows in the footsteps of another Bok openside flanker, 1995 World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar who ended his career at Saracens.