The 30-year-old scrumhalf ,a key figure within the Sharks successful start to Super Rugby this year,comes highly recommended by Newcastle Defence coach Nick Easter who once worked with him at the Sharks in 2018-19.
Schreuder becomes the Falcons’ sixth new signing for next season, alongside Matias Orlando (Jaguares), Marco Fuser (Benetton Treviso), Tom Penny (Harlequins), Pete Lucock (Doncaster Knights) and Iwan Stephens (Leeds Rhinos RL).
A three time Currie Cup winner in South Africa,the veteran 30-year-old joins from a Sharks side that was on top of Super Rugby’s South African Conference prior to the coronavirus outbreak.The 6ft halfback won the Currie Cup twice with Western Province and once with the Sharks,whom he captained to victory during the highly contested 2018 season campaign.
Louis Schreuder who played one Test for the Springboks against Wales in 2017,has been a vital cog of the Sharks side in recent years.The 30-year-old Boks scrumhalf boasts of more than 100 Super Rugby appearances.Schreuder in recent years has had successive stints with top ranked Super Rugby clubs which includes Stormers,Sharks,Southern Kings and has also played for French Club Toulon and Japan’s Kubota Spears.
Newcastle will be back in the Premiership following last seasons triumph which saw them winning all of their games and opening a 18 point gap at the summit before the season was put to halt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Louis is a top-quality player who has shown it consistently throughout his career,” Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards said on the club’s official website.
“Our new defence coach Nick Easter worked with him at the Sharks so we have great first-hand insight on him, and our back-rower Philip van der Walt has also been very useful in terms of getting the inside track from their time playing together.
“It’s a great signing which adds to what is already a very strong nucleus ahead of our Premiership return, and emphasises the real competition for places that we have among our squad.