Rob Penney has added pace and power to his backline after Munster have confirmed the signing of 24 year-old winger Gerhard van den Heever.
The Stormers and Western Province winger joins the growing South African contingent and at 6ft 2ins and 15 and a half stone, he will add plenty of bulk when he arrives in November on completion of the Currie Cup campaign.
Born in Bloemfontein, van den Heever made his first appearance for the Bulls in February 2009 when Bryan Habana suffered an injury and in the same year was part of the Baby Boks side that finished third in the Junior World Championship, a side captained by current Munster player CJ Stander.
After Habana moved to the Stormers in 2010, van den Heever made the most of his opportunity, scoring five tries in 15 Super XV appearances with talk of an imminent international call-up in light of his blistering form.
After a dip in form in 2011, he joined the Stormers with Habana again and Gio Aplon ahead in the pecking order. The last two seasons have seen the winger used mainly as an impact substitute, but with the departure of Doug Howlett, Munster fans will hope he can recapture that form of three years ago and make a real mark in his new surroundings.
With Andrew Conway also arriving from Leinster, Penney will certainly have more options in the backline at his disposal.
