Pretorius 'the kind of player Kings need'

Cape Town - Andre Rademan, EPRU president and chairperson of the Southern Kings board, says scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius will add great value to the franchise.

This comes after OFM Sport reported earlier on Tuesday that Pretorius would join the Kings from July 1 on a two-year deal.

The 33-year-old has represented Welsh PRO14 side Dragons since leaving the Cheetahs in 2015.

In an interview with SuperSport.com, Rademan said the Kings were looking to strengthen in several areas.

The Kings lost the bulk of the squad that performed adequately in the 2017 Super Rugby season because of the long-standing uncertainty over the future of the franchise.

One of the many players lost was scrumhalf Louis Schreuder, who left a gap for Pretorius to fill when he departed for the Sharks last year.

“We are extremely pleased to have secured the services of a player of Sarel’s abilities and have no doubt he will prove a huge success at the Kings,” Rademan said.

"He is exactly the kind of player we need to add to our young squad. He is exciting and brings a wealth of experience with him."

Due to his ability to score spectacular tries, Pretorius was often dubbed ‘Super Sarel’ during his time at the Cheetahs.

He played Super Rugby for the Cheetahs between 2008 and 2011, before joining the Waratahs in Australia for the 2012 season.

He returned to the Cheetahs for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.