Ospreys announce South African international Marvin Orie on short-term loan.
With three lock forwards on World Cup duty in Japan and injuries building up, 6ft 6inch Marvin Orie will join Ospreys Rugby from Johannesburg side, The Lions, until 26th December.
Seven years playing Super Rugby for Blue Bulls, Bulls and The Lions and top performing line-out forward in Super Rugby last season – Orie will bring much needed cover in the second row with a busy schedule of Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup games ahead.
Dan Griffiths, Rugby General Manager at Ospreys Rugby said; “Its a challenging time for the squad with Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard and Bradley Davies at the World Cup and injuries to James King and now Ben Glynn who was added to give us experience and much needed resource at second row.
Dan Lydiate has been selfless and a real example of the character in the squad by stepping in to do a job for the team. The addition of Marvin, however, will bring a huge boost in a time of critical need.
His experience at both international level with the Springboks and through playing in a successful Lions team in Super Rugby will add real quality to the squad. We are delighted to have him on board until the end of the year in what is going to be a challenging and demanding few months for the club.”
Orie, with 3 Springboks caps and just missing out on a place in South Africa’s World Cup squad, will complete his visa application before the end of the week. He will hopefully join the squad early next week in time for the next home game against Connacht on Saturday 2 November at 5.15pm.
Speaking about his imminent arrival, Orie told us; “I’m looking forward to flying out to Wales to join the Ospreys as soon as possible. With big European and PRO14 games coming up between now and Christmas, it’s going to be great to join them as they build their season over the coming months.”