Newport Gwent Dragons secure scrum-half Sarel Pretorius

Scrum-half Sarel Pretorius has played more than 100 Currie Cup games

South African scrum-half Sarel Pretorius will join Newport Gwent Dragons at the end of the 2014/15 season on a long-term deal.

The 30-year-old will join from Free State Cheetahs and is one of only a handful of players to have appeared in more than 100 Currie Cup games.

He also played for Royal XV against the 2009 British and Irish Lions, and spent a season with Waratahs in Australia.

"I am delighted to have signed for the Dragons," Pretorius said.

"They have a great group of players along with fantastic facilities and coaches, so I am looking forward to joining up with the squad.

"I feel that it is an exciting time to be involved and I am looking forward to seeing where we can go as a club."

Pretorius was part of the Barbarians side that narrowly lost to Australia at Twickenham on 1 November 2014, and Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones is pleased to have secured his services.

"We are delighted that Sarel has made the move to the Dragons," Jones said.

"He is a very experienced player and it's that wealth of experience and ability that we need amongst our young squad.

"He is an exciting signing for us and is a great fit and I look forward to working with him next season."