The Scarlets have boosted their squad for the start of the Guinness PRO14 season by signing South Africa international Juandre Kruger and former England A cap Ryan Lamb.
The experienced pair will arrive on short-term deals as the Welsh region look to add to their cover at a time when they have 14 players away on Rugby World Cup duty.
Kruger, who has played 17 times for the Springboks, joins from Toulon.
The 6ft 6in, 17st 8lb lock is a former Test partner of Eben Etzebeth and was initially drafted into the Test set-up to replace Victor Matfield.
Now 34, he has signed a contract until the end of November before he links with the Bulls Super Rugby side. An athletic ball-carrier and strong set-piece forward, the man from Cape Town played in the English Premiership with Northampton Saints before joining Racing Metro in 2013. He switched to three-times European champions Toulon in 2016 and has made more than a century of appearances in the Top14.
Lamb also knows his way around the scene at a high level.
The 33-year-old had seemed set to retire after finishing at La Rochelle at the end of last season but has evidently had a change of heart.
He began his career with his hometown club Gloucester, helping them to a European Challenge Cup triumph.
The much-travelled fly-half also had spells with London Irish, Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers and Worcester Warriors before heading for La Rochelle where he was part of the squad that reached the Champions Cup quarter-finals in 2018, losing to the Scarlets.
With Lamb pulling the strings, La Rochelle earned a reputation for enterprising rugby, and Scarlets head coach Brad Mooar believes both he and Kruger will prove useful additions to the set-up in west Wales.
“Not only are they outstanding players with vast experience, Juandre and Ryan are also top men who are driven to learn and give to the environment they are playing in,” said Mooar.
“That combination makes them the perfect players to complement our squad over the RWC period. We are thrilled to welcome them and their families to the Scarlets.”
