Newcastle sign one-time Springboks scrum-half for new Premiership season

One-time Springboks scrum-half Louis Schreuder is joining promoted Newcastle Falcons for the 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership season which gets underway in November. The 30-year-old was a part of the Sharks side that topped Super Rugby’s South African Conference prior to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, starting in five of their six games this year and suffering only a single defeat.

Schreuder has won South Africa’s Currie Cup three times, twice with Western Province, and most recently with Natal Sharks, whom he captained to victory during the 2018 final.

Having made his international debut against Wales in 2017, Schreuder has more than 100 Super Rugby appearances under his belt following his time with the Stormers, Sharks and Southern Kings, and the 6ft half-back has also played for French club Toulon and Japan’s Kubota Spears.

Newcastle boss Dean Richards said: “Louis is a top-quality player who has shown it consistently throughout his career.

“Our new defence coach Nick Easter worked with him at the Sharks so we have great first-hand insight on him, and our back row Philip van der Walt has also been very useful in terms of getting the inside track from their time playing together.

“It’s a great signing which adds to what is already a very strong nucleus ahead of our Gallagher Premiership return, and emphasises the real competition for places that we have among our squad.”

Newcastle will kick off their Gallagher Premiership campaign on the weekend of November 20-22 following last season’s Championship title triumph, Richards’ side winning every single game and sitting 18 points clear at the top of the table when the competition was ended prematurely in March.

Schreuder becomes the sixth new Newcastle signing for next season, alongside Matias Orlando (Jaguares), Marco Fuser (Benetton Treviso), Tom Penny (Harlequins), Pete Lucock (Doncaster Knights) and Iwan Stephens (Leeds Rhinos RL). 

Newcastle also welcome back England’s Mark Wilson from his loan spell at Sale Sharks, while Matthew Ward, James Blackett and Phil Brantingham have all been promoted into the club’s senior academy squad.