Bradley Van Niekerk
Front Rower Bradley Van Niekerk and Centre Brent Kier from Pirates Rugby Club in JHB have committed to the Tel Aviv Heat for the upcoming season.
Brad Van Niekerk is a versatile front rower most comfortable at tight head, but equally adept at playing loose head and a powerful hooker too with over 100 games played for his beloved Pirates Rugby Club. The highly-rated front rower can consider himself unlucky not to have played higher in Gauteng, but has been part of the Lions squad in the past. His rugby journey has included stints in Sydney, Australia with the Warringah Rats, in the UAE with the Dubai Exiles, and in Italy with Città Di Castello.
Now Brad gets a chance to scrum down for The Tel Aviv Heat against the tough Georgian and Russian front rows.
Brent Kier is also relishing the opportunity to lace up for the Tel Aviv Heat. After being schooled at King David Linksfield Brent played four seasons at WITS rugby club, where he played A team rugby for their u19 and u21 teams and represented them in the Varsity Cup 7’s competition. A triple-Maccabi games medallist, Brent has represented South Africa in both sevens and fifteens in 2013 and 2017. An accomplished sevens player, Brent has represented Pirates as captain of their 7’s team, as well his province, The Lions, in the 7’s format. On the 15’s front, Brent has played close to 40 First XV games for Pirates.
Brent Kier
Brad Guymer, Chairman of Pirates Sports Club:
“Pirates continues to ensure the growth of our players and coaches and our efforts to provide opportunities for players has been bolstered with our relationship with the Tel Aviv Heat. Two of our players, Bradley van Niekerk and Brent Kier, will be joining the franchise for their Rugby Europe Super Cup campaign this season. I’m very proud of Bradley and Brent - they have been with Pirates for a long time now and will add massive value to the Heat outfit that is littered with talent from across the world. It’s an exciting competition and we look forward to further involvement with The Heat and wish Brad and Brent the best of luck for the upcoming Super Cup season and even more players getting their opportunity on a global platform…”
Pete Sickle, CEO of the Tel Aviv Heat:
“We are very fortunate in our inaugural year to establish a positive relationship with Pirates Rugby Club. We look forward to our preparation time with them in the coming weeks as they host our full squad and their willingness to support our campaign. Facilitating the selection of both Brent Kier and Bradley Van Niekerk represents their positive rugby ethos around the development and growth of their players. This is truly refreshing to see in modern day professional rugby...”
Brent Kier on signing for the Tel Aviv Heat:
“I am honoured to have this opportunity to play for the Tel Aviv heat and be coached by Kevin again. Very excited to play and experience living in Israel. I cannot wait to meet all the boys and learn from them as we have some very special talent in the squad. I’m ready to play my heart out for the Tel Aviv Heat...”
Kevin Musikanth on Brad Van Niekerk:
“To have a versatile front rower of Brad’s calibre being with The Tel Aviv Heat is a coaching dream. The godfather (Paul Day – scrum coach) has a knack of getting the best out of scrumming units and will be able to apply Brad’s unique skill set of being equally capable in any of the front row positions. I have watched Brad play over the years for Pirates and he should consider himself unlucky at this stage, to have not reached higher honours. I am looking forward to working with Brad in the coming months…”
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