Stormers lock Ernst van Rhyn heading to England

The 25-year-old former Junior Springbok captain, who can play as a lock or in the back row, will join Alex Sanderson's squad at the end of the season.

Van Rhyn, who stands 6'3" tall and weighs 115 kilograms, has been a key performer for the Stormers, running out for his 50th appearance against Harlequins in April.

He is a former teammate of Sale forward Cobus Wiese at both domestic and international level, with the pair also playing in the South Africa U20s side in 2016.

"I'm really excited about this move," Van Rhyn told the Sale Sharks website. "Sale have a quality team full of world class players and I can't wait to play with guys like the Curry and Du Preez brothers. I really feel like we can achieve great things together in the years ahead.

"I spoke to Cobus before making my decision and the fact that there will be familiar faces and familiar voices at the club was definitely a factor.

"But more importantly, at this stage of my career, I felt like I really wanted to try a new environment and a new culture to grow as a rugby player but also as a person. I really want to keep pushing and challenging myself and the environment at Sale is the perfect place to do that.

"I chatted to Alex on the phone and it was clear that his philosophies match mine. It's about rugby but I know that Sale is a club where they care about the individual too. My fiance and I can't wait to get over there and get started."

Director of rugby Sanderson said: "We have a good track record of recruiting really good, young, aggressive, physical South African back five players and I'm confident we've got another one here in Ernst.

"He's a really good player, but more importantly, he's a really good character. He's captain material and he's been a leader in every team he's played in and that's testament to the kind of person he is.

"He lived with Cobus Wiese and I think they are forged from the same South African steel. They're hard-working, tough and young enough to keep on improving.

"He is joining us at a really good point in our growth as a squad, and I think we're getting him at the same stage in his development."