Having worked his way through the Bulls’ youth system Sharman, a 21-year-old hooker, has been a regular in the Pretoria outfit’s Vodacom Cup teams for the past two seasons. This year he played eight times in the competition – which runs parallel to the Super 14 – including the final, which the Bulls won.

He has been brought into the squad to cover for the absence of Stuart Friswell, who is currently rehabilitating from injury, and is available for immediate selection. Sharman also adds to the pool of young English hookers at Franklin’s Gardens thanks to his British passport.

“Hooker is a specialist position in which we presently need some extra cover that Brett will provide,” explained Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder. “Paul Shields and Joe Gray have played well while Dylan Hartley has been away with England, but our reserves will run extremely thin if one of them picks up an injury.”