NEW SIGNING Dewald Potgieter is excited about the challenge ahead and wants to provide consistency to the ‘young’ Warriors squad.
The South African international joined up with his new teammates from Japanese Top League side Yamaha Jubilo just days before making his first appearance in Warriors 16-14 defeat to Bath last Saturday (February 13), where he played 19 minutes.
The 28-year-old back row has signed a deal until the end of next season and admits he is still familiarising himself with his new club.
Potgieter wants to help implement the success of multiple trophies he won with Super League side the Bulls.
“The move happened pretty suddenly. I had just finished the Japanese season and was available and looking for a new challenge,” said Potgieter.
“When the opportunity came it seemed the perfect situation as the club have a lot of aspirations and I’ve got some friends over here who have told me how professional the club is.
“I know GJ and Wynand very well and their both good friends of mine. To have them here is really helping me to understand the culture of the club on and off the field.
“It’s a very professional environment and I’m getting to know more of the guys here. Their the type of players you want to work hard for.
“I want to come in and get involved by providing consistency. It’s a relatively young group of guys and I’ve been lucky enough to be apart of teams that have been consistent in winning trophies. Consistency is fundamental if you want to be successful, so that’s my key area of focus.
“I have no doubt this team will be successful and it gives me a lot of energy to be apart of it,” he added.
The flanker believes rugby in Japan is progressing and becoming more mainstream after the nation’s shock win over the Springboks at last summer’s Rugby World Cup.
But Potgieter is aware the Aviva Premiership differentiates vastly from the Top League in Japan.
“Japanese rugby is really moving forward and the interest is too. After the world cup last summer we had sold out stadiums for our domestic league matches,” he said.
“I’ve only been able to stream one Premiership game online before flying to the UK, so I still need to do a lot of research on the league.
“But from what I’ve seen so far it’s a very physical and tactical league which I will have to adapt too.”