WIEHAHN HERBST WILL remain an Ulster player for a further two seasons at least.
The province have announced this morning that Herbst has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Kingspan Stadium until the summer of 2019.
“This deal is a great boost for myself and my family. My wife and I are well settled here in Belfast and our son was born here, so it is a special place for us,” Herbst said.
“I truly believe that the squad is really starting to develop, with improving depth across most positions. I’m looking forward to competing with the guys for the starting number three jersey over the next few years.”
The 28-year-old tighthead prop, who has been capped by South Africa at U20 level, has made 42 appearances for Ulster since joining from the Sharks in 2014.
Ulster Director of Rugby Les Kiss said: “Wiehahn is a great bloke and I’m delighted that he’s agreed to stay on with us for another couple of years. The market is becoming increasingly competitive and the retention of our top players is a major focus for Bryn Cunningham [Operations Director] and myself.
“Wiehahn is still relatively young for a prop and we fully expect that his best years are still ahead of him. I have no doubt that he will continue to be an important player for us.
“Heis very powerful in the set piece and this has been a huge weapon for us since his arrival. His work ethic is first class and he is committed to developing his game, while also ensuring that others are too.
“With Rodney [Ah You] also competing for a starting berth, and with Academy prop Ross Kane developing nicely, we are starting to look pretty well stocked at tighthead. We also have Ricky Lutton and Jonny Simpson on the books and it is vital for us to have that strength in depth.”
Great piece Niall, but there are a couple of other points here.
If, for example, Kenny Egan was to travel to Baku, he could qualify for the Olympics, and would do so in the same weight division as Joe Ward. As a country can only enter one fighter in any weight class, as far as I’m aware, Ward could then not even compete in Istanbul and his Olympic dreams would be dashed, even though he is European Champion. This is the same for any of our ‘stars’ who miss out.
Also, if IABA were to send Ward and Moylette, the European champions would be seeded and thus get an easier draw. If they send other boxers in the same weight classes, that seeding is lost.
Thanks for the comments Gavin.
I see Kenny has declared that he’s stepping up to Heavyweight for this week’s competition, which was presumably decided in order to avoid the clash with Ward that you mentioned. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next week.