Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff is in contention to make his debut for Ulster on Saturday after making a strong impression in his first training sessions this week.

The two-time World Cup winner arrived in Belfast last Saturday and officially reported for duty with his new club on Monday.

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The 31-year-old captained the Stormers to back-to-back Vodacom URC finals, winning the 2021-22 title, and will add plenty of experience to Ulster’s pack.

Ulster, currently in third place after winning four of their opening five Vodacom URC fixtures, are in Scotland this weekend to face Franco Smith’s second-placed Glasgow Warriors on Saturday night, when Kitshoff could get his first run-out for his new team.

“[Head coach] Dan [McFarland] will make those calls in due course but it’s certainly great to have Steven on board,” Ulster defence coach Johnny Bell said.  “He’s excited and looking forward to getting to know the boys and getting out on the pitch.

“It’s great. It’s been talked about for a long time and he’s in meetings and he’s around the place.

“He’s just a really humble, grounded kind of guy. I’m only just getting to know him but he’s a double World Cup winner and you don’t become a double World Cup winner without having a certain amount of gravitas and character and you can see that in the way he speaks and carries himself.

“The boys are excited about having him around and picking his brain.”

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