The Blue Bulls Company Pty (Ltd) is pleased to announce that Johann Sadie and JJ Engelbrecht have signed two year contracts (till 31 October 2013) with the Vodacom Bulls.

Official Bulls release

Both will join up with the Vodacom Bulls on November 1st, in time to start preparing for the Super Rugby competition in 2012.

The 21 year old Sadie, who played for the Stormers in the 2011 Super Rugby series, indicated that he decided to move because of more opportunities at the Vodacom Bulls.

“I have enjoyed my time with the Stormers immensely. I am a loyal person, so it was a difficult decision, but I am excited about the opportunities that I will be afforded at the Bulls,” he said.

Engelbrecht was also a member of the Stormers group and has first played Currie Cup rugby for Western Province in 2009. He was one of the stalwarts of the championship u.21 Western Province team, scoring seven tries.

The chief executive officer of the BBC, Barend van Graan, expressed his delight with the news.

“We have a vision to become a world leader in rugby and players like Johann and JJ will contribute towards that goal. It is also good to know that players of their quality see the Vodacom Bulls as the vehicle to achieve their goals in rugby.”

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rugby365

Ian Schwartz, the high performance manager at the Blue Bulls confirmed on Friday that the pair signed two-year contracts with the Blue Bulls that will be effective from November 1, after the Currie Cup, and will run until the end of 2013.

Both of the players formed part of the Stormers squad that finished second on the Super Rugby standings this year and will be seen as significant losses for the Cape franchise.

Sadie in particular caught the eye in this year’s Super Rugby competition in the limited opportunities that he got. But he was third in the outside centre pecking order behind Jaque Fourie and Juan de Jongh so he will be looking forward to the opportunity of starting regularly for the Pretoria-based team.

Sadie represented the SA Under-20s at the IRB Junior World Championship in 2009  and was part of the victorious Maties side in the Varsity Cup in 2009 and 2010. He also featured prominently in the Western Province U21 side that won the championship in 2010.

He surprised many with his mature performances against top New Zealand franchises the Crusaders and the Blues this season and has been touted as a future Springbok centre.

The 21-year-old Sadie indicated that he decided to move because of more opportunities at the Blue Bulls.

“I have enjoyed my time with the Stormers immensely. I am a loyal person, so it was a difficult decision, but I am excited about the opportunities that I will be afforded at the Bulls,” he said.

A product of Grey High in Port Elizabeth, JJ Engelbrecht moved to Western Province after playing for EP in the Craven Week. He was also part of a victorious Varsity Cup Maties team and faced the British and Irish Lions for Western Province in 2009.

He has also played for Western Province in the Currie  Cup, and was the joint top points-scorer Vodacom Cup this year after scoring 10 tries in the competition.

The chief executive officer of the Blue Bulls Company, Barend van Graan, expressed his delight with the news.

“We have a vision to become a world leader in rugby and players like Johann and JJ will contribute towards that goal. It is also good to know that players of their quality see the Vodacom Bulls as the vehicle to achieve their goals in rugby,” he said.