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Port Elizabeth - The Southern Kings have announced the signing of lock Wilhelm van der Sluys on a loan agreement from English Premiership side Worcester Warriors.
The arrival of Van der Sluys in Port Elizabeth comes ahead of the Kings' clash with the Stormers this weekend and is timely following a recent spate of injuries in the lock department for the Eastern Cape side.
The Kings lost Mzwanele Zito to a concussion last weekend against the Sunwolves, Irne Herbst suffered the same fate in the opening match against the Jaguares while Cameron Lindsay has been ruled out for 12 weeks with an MCL (knee) tear. Two other locks, Sintu Manjezi and Wandile Putuma, have also been nursing leg injuries.
“We are happy to have Wilhelm van der Sluys joining us this season,” Southern Kings coach Deon Davids said.
“We are confident that he will contribute positively to the team and further beef up our good calibre of locks that we already have in the team. Wilhelm will adjust quickly and easily to our systems, and we look forward to seeing him in action in Southern Kings colours.”
The 25-year-old lock, who stands at 1.98-metres and 103kg, was schooled at Paarl Boys’ High School and represented Western Province at various youth teams.
In 2010, Van der Sluys was part of the Western Province Under-19 team that won the U-19 Currie Cup campaign.
In 2011, he was part of the South Africa Under-20 team that toured Argentina.
Van der Sluys showed his leadership qualities when he captained the Western Province U-21 team and he also captained Maties to a Varsity Cup victory.
At the end of last year’s Currie Cup, Van der Sluys joined the Worcester Warriors, where former Springbok assistant coach, Gary Gold, holds the director of rugby position.
The Southern Kings also have Lions centre Stokkies Hanekom on trial. The 27-year-old is undergoing a medical assessment at the Southern Kings before a loan agreement is reached.
