Francois van Wyk to join Northampton Saints

Western Force loosehead prop Francois van Wyk is all set to switch to Aviva Premiership club Northamtpon Saints ahead of the next season.

The 25-year-old joined the Super Rugby side from Western Province in 2014 and has made 12 appearances till now with eight of it coming in 2016 and has now penned a one-year contract with the Franklin's Gardens outfit.

The decision to sign van Wyk comes after prop Ethan Waller decided to move to Worcester Warriors after spending over five years with Northampton Saints.

Northampton Saints rugby director Jim Mallinder is confident that van Wyk's addition will benefit the club.

"We've been impressed with what we've seen from Francois in Super Rugby over the past couple of seasons," director of rugby Jim Mallinder told northamptonsaints.co.uk.

"He's a strong scrummager and still relatively young for a front-row forward.

"We believe that Francois has plenty of potential to continue improving and are pleased that he will be joining us at Franklin's Gardens next season."

Northampton Saints finished seventh in the Aviva Premiership table last season and has secured the services of Jamal Ford-Robinson, Rob Horne, Cobus Reinach, Piers Francis and Mitch Eadie ahead of the 2017/18 edition apart from van Wyk.