The Vodacom Bulls have announced the signing of 26-year-old lock forward Jan Uys from French Top 14 club CA Brive from 1 July.
Uys has spent the last few seasons with CA Brive after an initial six months with fellow Top 14 outfit Pau, which he joined from Western Province in 2016.
The second rower has carved out a reputation as a powerful ball-carrier in the unforgiving French rugby environment, but is also noticeably set apart by his ball-handling skills, an attribute usually more associated with loose forwards and backs.
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The 1.99m and 120kg behemoth made his first-class debut in the 2014 instalment of Vodacom Cup in the colours of Western Province after representing the union at U21 and U19 levels. He also contributed to UCT’s cause in the 2014 Varsity Cup where the Ikeys clinched the final in the most dramatic fashion.
The former Paul Roos Gimnasium scholar also spent a season with the Eastern Province Kings in 2015 where he captained the U21 team on the odd occasion before leaving for France.
Uys will add further firepower to the Bulls tight five, which has already been strengthened by the signings of Cheetahs second-row pair Sintu Manjezi and Walt Steenkamp.