Springbok scrum half Ruan Pienaar will join Ulster at the start of September even though the Springboks won't have completed the TriNations after agreeing terms with the Sharks.
The Natal Sharks have agreed to released Pienaar before the end of the TriNations so it is unlikely that he will play for the Sharks again.
Pienaar is part of the Springboks TriNations squad and his contract will officially begin with Ulster on the 1st of September but will be available for South Africa if he is named in the 22 for the test against Australia on the 4th of September.
He is a regular feature in the Springboks team so he is likely to miss the Magners League opener against Ospreys.
Twenty six year old Pienaar has agreed a two year contract with the Irish Province and can play at either scrum-half or fly-half.
Pienaar will join fellow Springboks and Sharks players Johann Muller and BJ Botha at Ravenhill.
He made his debut for the Springboks in the 2006 Tri-Nations and was part of the World Cup winning squad in 2007.
Pienaar says that he is "very excited about the change".
