Bath Rugby confirm the signing of former Worcester Warriors skipper

Bath Rugby have announced the signing of experienced leader GJ van Velze who will join the club for the 2022/23 season.

The South African is player who can play multiple positions across the back five of the scrum, including second row, however throughout his rugby career has more generally been employed as a number eight.

Somerset Live understands van Velze is not considered a replacement for club captain Charlie Ewels who has been sidelined with an ACL injury sustained on England duty last month, but rather provides depth and experience at number eight with Taulupe Faletau leaving Bath for Cardiff Rugby this summer.

Van Velze will compete with Jaco Coetzee, new signing Wes White who joins the club from Championship side Jersey Reds, 21-year-old academy product Nahum Merigan and the versatile Josh Bayliss for the number eight jersey.

Further signing options are being pursued to cover Ewels' absence.

Van Velze, 34, arrives at Farleigh House from a year out of professional rugby working on his boot business Van Velze & Smith, but comes with a wealth of experience under his belt with more than a century of Premiership appearances to his name during spells with Northampton Saints, where he won the Premiership in 2014, and Worcester Warriors.

At the latter, van Velze was given the captaincy in his first season, leading the Warriors to promotion back into the Premiership at the first time of asking. He retained his leadership role throughout his seven years at Sixways.

Prior to his time in England, the forward twice captained the Blue Bulls’ junior side to the Vodacom Cup as well as skippering South Africa Academy, South Africa Under-19s and Under-20s.

Whilst in Pretoria, he became a key member of the Bulls’ Currie Cup