Namibia rugby Pieter-Jan “PJ” van Lill has signed a two-year deal with French Pro D2 club Valence Romans Drôme Rugby, which campaigns in that country’s second tier of rugby league.
Valence Romans Drôme Rugby joined the French Pro D2 league in the 2019-20 season after gaining promotion from that country’s Fédérale 1 rugby structure, which is France’s highest level of amateur rugby union club competition.
The 36-year-old veteran, who has represented Namibia at three World Cups, namely: the 2011, 2015 and 2019 World Cup, joins Valence Romans Drôme Rugby from French Pro14 side Aviron Bayonnais.
Valence Romans Drôme Rugby newly-appointed mentor Johann Authier expressed satisfaction with the arrival of Van Lill, saying: “Pieter is a solid experience player, very dense and physical, which allows him to win collisions in impact zones. A hard worker, he is also exemplary on and off the field.” Van Lill, who boasts more than 50 national team caps and has been an active member of the Welwitschias since 2006 and was part of Namibia’s 2011 World Cup squad, joined Aviron Bayonnais in 2015 from another French side US Dax and has since went on to make more than 21 appearances for Bayonnais in all competitions. Besides Bayonnais, van Lill has also played for Aurillac and US Dax in the Western European country and boasts incredible experience at international level.