Ulster Rugby Show: Bryn Cunningham explains deal that brought Vermeulen to Belfast

Ulster's head of operations Bryn Cunningham says the province moved to sign Duane Vermeulen in the hope that the World Cup winner would influence the team off the pitch as much as he would on it.

Back row Vermeulen will link up with Ulster in late November after playing for the Barbarians against Samoa.

The signing of the Springbok took many by surprise, with Ulster pouncing for a world class signing after a deal with forward Leone Nakarawa with fell through.

Speaking to the Ulster Rugby Show, Cunningham opened the door on the deal to bring the South African to Belfast.

"Going after someone like Duane, it was trying to get to the point where something would come out of the woodwork. He came out of the woodwork through an agent that I do a lot of work with who was Ruan Pienaar's agent," Cunningham said.

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"He made me aware of whenever there was just a few things going on in the South African Rugby Union that made his situation at that point just a little bit unsure.

"That just gave a little bit of a chink of an opportunity to go in, I had just mentioned the possibility and [head coach] Dan [McFarland] had said 'yes, go and do that'.

"We knew straight away that a guy like that was going to bring a huge amount of value not just on the pitch but of it. And plus for the profile of the club having a guy of that stature, part of the number one side on the world, it's big."

'No point in selling a dream that's not here'

Vermeulen is the latest South African to join Ulster with a big reputation, with Pienaar and more recently Marcell Coetzee making a sizeable impression at the club.

Cunningham is hopeful that the Springbok will enjoy his time in Belfast to the same extent some of his fellow countrymen like Louis Ludik and Robbie Diack, who have stayed in the city following their retirement from rugby.

"We know already we have a head start because the South African contingent seem to settle in very well here; they've always done well and they seem to settle here post-rugby," he said.

"He loves his golf, I've sold him the golf dream. We're already starting to eye up schools that would be perfect for his kids," Cunningham said.

"We're just trying to create a picture of what's honest and up front about what we can provide. There's no point in selling a dream that's not there, we've got to make sure that we're promoting something that he's going to buy into and I'm quite confident that there's a lot there he's going to really enjoy."

Vermeulen's commitment with the Barbarians, that was agreed before Ulster made contact, will see him miss the province's meeting with Leinster on 27 November, with the home match against Ospreys a week later earmarked for his potential debut.

Watch the Ulster Rugby Show on BBC iPlayer.