Jacques Potgieter was heavily linked with Saracens © Getty Images

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Bulls and Springboks star Jacques Potgieter will not be going to Saracens as he has signed instead for New South Wales Waratahs.

The news confirmed by his agent on Twitter will come as a huge boost to the Sydney-based Super Rugby franchise. Potgieter, who starred for the Bulls against the Brumbies in their Super Rugby semi-final, has signed a six-month contract with Japanese Top League side Fukuoka Sanix Blues and will link with the Waratahs for their 2014 and 2015 campaigns.

I can confirm that @JacquePotgieter has signed a 2yr contract with @NSWWaratahs to play 2014 & 2015 #Super15 @InTouchSports @BlueBullsRugby

— James Adams (@James_Adams007) August 5, 2013

Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said that he "wanted to profile one of our locks as a no-nonsense, hard and strong ball carrier and tackler, experienced and hungry to add these qualities to our squad" for 2014.

"Jacques fits this profile perfectly, and his experience in the back-row also gives us extra quality in our forward depth. We have some excellent locks and back-rows in our squad with different profiles, and adding a quality recruit like Jacques to our team will definitely make for more competition within our squad, which should make us more competitive against our opponents."

Potgeiter, who played his last game for the Bulls in the Super Rugby semi-final loss to the Brumbies, said: "I'm really looking forward to joining the Waratahs for Super Rugby and spending time in a great city like Sydney. The Waratahs play a style of rugby that I really enjoy and I'm looking forward to working with Michael Cheika."

Potgieter had been heavily linked with Saracens with reports in the Rugby Paper on Sunday claiming he had penned a deal to join the Aviva Premiership side. These reports were seemingly confirmed by the Bulls' high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg who told the newspaper: "Saracens will suit him down to the ground, I have been to Saracens and experienced the environment they are creating.

"It will fit him like a glove, it's almost a home away from home considering how much Afrikaans you can hear about the place."

But instead of journeying to England after his time in the Far East, Potgieter will be playing for the Waratahs come next season. He has three caps to his name for the Boks, and Van Rensburg was full or praise for the flanker.

"Jacques is the ultimate flanker. He is a magnificent athlete who is big and a very strong ball carrier, he's a world-class player no doubt about it. And on top of that he is a fighter, he loves the physical stuff and is not afraid to get his hands dirty and do the smaller things."