Edinburgh signs Stellenbosch schoolboy
TRANSFER NEWS: The signing of South African schoolboy players has gone into overdrive.
Edinburgh confirmed they have added teenage centre Jordan Venter to their squad for next season.
Venter, 17, will link-up with the capital club in December, following the conclusion of the South African academic year.
He joins them from the Stellenbosch-based Paul Roos Gymnasium school.
“I’m very humbled by the opportunity to join Edinburgh,” Venter, said.
“I’m still a young man with lots to learn, so getting the chance to develop my own game overseas is the best decision for my rugby career.
“Edinburgh, as a city and as a club, has so much heritage and tradition. While the coaching staff and squad there are phenomenal.
“I’ve also got a good relationship with some of the South African players already there, so it will make for an easy transition when I make the move to Scotland.”
Coach Richard Cockerill, added: “Jordan is a young, athletic centre with bags of potential. We have kept a close eye on his school career and he’ll be a welcome addition to the squad next season.”
Born and raised in George, Western Cape – the same town as current Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe – Venter represented South Western Districts at an early age.
In a bid to further his rugby career, Venter made the move to Stellenbosch’s Paul Roos Gymnasium where he has been enrolled in boarding school since 2016.
The centre was named in the under-16 Western Province Elite Squad before a shoulder injury derailed Venter’s bid to compete at Craven Week.
Now at Under-18 level, Venter took part in the 2019 Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Japan, where Paul Roos Gymnasium claimed first place, defeating St Peters College 52-5 in a one-sided final.
Venter was more recently named vice-captain of the South Africa under-18 Sevens side which won last month’s Capricorn Group Sevens tournament in Namibia.
