Van der Linde signing boosts Kings

THE Eastern Province Kings have bolstered their front row by signing prop CJ van der Linde and hooker Edgar Marutlulle for the Currie Cup season.

EP Rugby chief executive Charl Crous yesterday confirmed that former Springbok Van der Linde had been contracted until the end of the 2014 season, with Marutlulle signing until the end of next year.

"A player such as CJ brings with him a wealth of experience that will help the younger players in the Kings setup as they step up to the next level of competition that is Currie Cup Premier Division," Crous said.

"It is also great to have a calibre player such as Edgar back with us. Edgar was part of our structures last year in our debut Super Rugby campaign."

Van der Linde made his debut for the Springboks as a 20- year-old in November 2002 in a match against Scotland at Murrayfield, which South Africa lost 21-6 and went on to represent South Africa 75 times.

Marutlulle is a product of Potchefstroom High School and represented SA Schools in 2005, SA under-19 in 2006 and SA Students in 2007, 2008 and 2009 while attending North-West University.

He represented the Leopards at several youth levels before moving to the Golden Lions, where he made his first team debut against Western Province in the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division.

Marutlulle was included in the 2011 Lions Super Rugby squad, where he made his debut against the Bulls.

He rejoined the Leopards for the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season before moving across to the Southern Kings on loan for last year's Super Rugby season.

Marutlulle played four games for the Southern Kings before returning to the Leopards to assist them in their Currie Cup campaign.