Lions hooker Martin Bezuidenhout will join the DHL Stormers at the start of next week, as injury cover up front.

WPRU

With youngster Scarra Ntubeni (shoulder) having undergone surgery this week and Springbok Tiaan Liebenberg (back) still a few weeks away from taking contact, Bezuidenhout will be based in Cape Town until the end of March.

DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee explained: “Martin will initially be here until the end of March, but it could be longer – depending on the fitness of Tiaan and Scarra.”

Bezuidenhout played his Craven Week rugby for the Leopards, before moving to Johannesburg after school.

The 23-year-old hooker has represented the Lions at every level – including two seasons of Super Rugby and the 2011 Currie Cup Final when he came off the bench.

“As I said earlier this week, we needed a hooker with enough Super Rugby and big-game experience and Martin certainly fits the bill,” said Coetzee.

“He also came very highly-recommended by his peers and we’re looking forward to welcoming him at training on Monday and getting him up to speed with our systems at the HPC.”

Bezuidenhout will immediately be included in the team’s preparations for next Saturday’s warm-up match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein (kick-off 17h00).