EDINBURGH RUGBY have signed promising centre, Jordan Venter, as head coach Richard Cockerill continues to strengthen his squad.

The 17-year-old South African will link-up with the capital club in December of this year following the conclusion of the South African academic year and joins from Stellenbosch’s Paul Roos Gymnasium School.

On signing with the club, Venter, said: “I’m very humbled by the opportunity to join Edinburgh. I’m still a young man with lots to learn, so getting the chance to develop my own game overseas is the best decision for my rugby career.

“Edinburgh, as a city and as a club, has so much heritage and tradition. While the coaching staff and squad there are phenomenal. I’ve also got a good relationship with some of the South African players already there, so it will make for an easy transition when I make the move to Scotland.”

Cockerill has persuaded a number of current players to extend their contracts with the capital club and the head coach is delighted to have secured the signature of the highly-rated teenager, Venter.

“Jordan is a young, athletic centre with bags of potential. We've kept a close eye on his school career and he’ll be a welcome addition to the squad," said Cockerill.

Venter was born and raised in George, Western Cape - the same town as current Edinburgh Rugby winger Duhan van der Merwe – and represented South Western Districts at an early age.

He then made the move to Stellenbosch’s Paul Roos Gymnasium in an attempt to further his rugby career, where he has been enrolled in boarding school since 2016.

The centre was named in the under-16 Western Province Elite Squad before a shoulder injury derailed Venter’s bid to compete at Craven Week.

Now at under-18 level, Venter took part in the 2019 Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Japan, where Paul Roos Gymnasium claimed first place, defeating St Peters College 52-5 in a one-sided final.

And more recently, Venter was named vice-captain of the South Africa under-18 Sevens side which won last month’s Capricorn Group Sevens Rugby Tournament in Namibia.