The 26-year-old lock is currently playing for the Eastern Province Mighty Elephants in South Africa. He previously played 40 times for Boland and has won 25 caps for his country, including the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
Cardiff’s Director of Rugby Rudy Joubert said, “Heino is a mobile, ball-winning forward who will be an asset to our squad. I have worked with him in Boland and the Namibia World Cup team and he is a 100 per cent player. He will give us extra options in the tight and loose and he is also a great ball-carrier. He has already been voted as his team’s player of the season in the Vodacom Cup and has been in outstanding form in Namibia’s current World Cup qualifying campaign.”
Joining Senekal in next season’s club squad are Jim Brownrigg and Dean Dewdney, both of whom appeared fleetingly in Blue and Black colours last season. Brownrigg played last autumn against Neath, Newport and Caerphilly and made a huge impression as both a lock and at number 6. He has now signed a contract with the club.
Similarly, Dewdney played on trial against Cambridge University last November before playing the second half of the season for Neath. He now joins Cardiff as a utility back.
Cardiff’s Chief Executive Robert Norster said today, “Like many other clubs we are still in the throes of finalising our squad for the new season. It is always a challenging task and as always it is essential to establish the right balance of both players and budgets. We anticipate further announcements at the appropriate times that will strengthen our squad in due course.”
