Saracens captain Alistair Hargreaves has hailed the signing of back row forward Michael Rhodes from Super 15 side Stormers for the beginning of the 2015/16 season.

Hargreaves, who is a former teammate of Rhodes during their time at the Sharks in Durban, believes Saracens have recruited a “world class” back row forward for the 2015/16 season.

Speaking about the announcement of Rhodes , Hargreaves said: “He’ll add a tremendous amount to the team. He’s been on fire so far this season and in the first couple of games he’s been a real stalwart for the Stormers.  He’s been through a truck load of work and he has brought a lot of physicality to the game. - he’ll suit us down to the ground.

[caption id="attachment_39471" align="alignnone" width="560"] Rhodes (pictured) and Hargreaves played alongside each other at Super 15 side the Sharks[/caption]

“Michael is a physical player. He does a lot of work for a guy his size. The beauty is he can cover both flanker and lock. He’s undoubtedly a flanker, and in my opinion a world class back rower. He can cover at second row, and you always need depth in those position so for him to do that is great."

Hargreaves added: “I’m personally very excited, and very excited for the club to be signing players of his quality."