Saints lock heading to Blue Bulls

Back to Pretoria: Juandré Kruger

Northampton will lose lock Juandré Kruger at the end of the season with the Blue Bulls securing his services.

Kruger starred in Pretoria 19 times during 2008 after which he departed for Europe, but was one of the Bulls' stalwarts during his time at Loftus.

The powerful 24-year-old forward first tasted senior provincial rugby back in 2007 when he played a few matches for Western Province.

He lifted the European Challenge Cup with the English side in 2009 while Saints are currently going strongly in Guinness Premiership, LV= Cup and Heineken Cup competitions this season.

But Kruger told vodacombulls.co.za that Loftus is the place where he wants to be and he believes the Bulls are the best franchise in the world.

"The coaching staff, the management team, the facilities and the whole culture at Loftus is every rugby player's dream and I am very excited about my second spell with the Bulls," he said.

Kruger did pay tribute to Saints coaches Jim Mallinder, Dorian West and Paul Grayson, who helped him reach his full potential in the northern hemisphere.

"In Europe you play against international opposition in every match," he added.

"I therefore gained a lot of experience and the Heineken Cup forced me to sharpen up my lineout play as well as my decision making and contact skills."