Northampton Saints' new South African duo, Juandre Kruger and Regardt Dreyer, are ready to make their mark on English rugby after arriving at Franklin's Gardens.

The pair donned black, green and gold for the first time at a photocall this week and both players are eager to impress at their new club.

"Northampton is one of the better clubs in England and I would only like to play for one of the big clubs," said Kruger. "What I've seen here is excellent. It is very professional and I will be playing with some great players here. It's going to be a good time and I'm looking forward to it.

"It was either Northampton or the Bulls. The Springboks at the Bulls had signed for two or three years and the opportunity opened up for me at Northampton. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to play some rugby in England. As a young boy I saw Northampton play, winning the Heineken Cup and when Carlos Spencer arrived at the club. I thought to myself when I was young that this was the kind of club I would like to play for some day and that opportunity has been realised for me. I can't wait to get on the pitch and play some rugby."

Kruger, a 6'6" forward comfortable at lock and in the back row, flew into the UK following a Currie Cup season in which he played eight times for the Blue Bulls and was selected on the bench for the competition's final. The Stellenbosch University graduate also made 10 appearances for the Bulls in the 2008 Vodacom Cup.

Dreyer meanwhile has been getting up to speed with the Saints conditioning staff during his three weeks at the club. After two years in Kimberley that included 18 Currie Cup appearances and 15 appearances for the Griquas, the 6'3" prop says he is now settling into life in the East Midlands.

"Everything's been great," he said. "The club has helped us with settling in and we don't have any complaints. I missed the first half of the Currie Cup so I'm fresh and ready to go. Training is a lot different from what I was used to at the Griquas, which was a medium-sized union in South Africa. It has been something new!"

Dreyer, who says he "likes to do the work - scrummaging, mauling, rucking and so on", is certainly not expecting an easy life in the Guinness Premiership.

"The Premiership is hard," he said. "Back home there is a lot of running rugby whereas from what I've seen there is going to be a lot of work. But it's going to be a good experience."

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