The Houston SaberCats have filled a gap in their loose forward stables with the signing of Germany international Ayron Schramm. The powerful ball-carrying No8 is an ideal replacement for Kyle Sumsion who has left the SaberCats to take on a coaching role at West Point Military Academy. He joins the SaberCats from German club Heidelberger RK.

A native of South Africa, the 23-year-old grew up near Durban and developed in the Sharks age-grade system before choosing to follow his German ancestry to test rugby. Schramm has won all three of his test caps at the back of the scrum. His most recent appearance was against Portugal in the Rugby Europe World Cup Qualifier in June.

With Germany taking part in the World Cup Repechage competition against Hong Kong, Canada, and Kenya, Schramm will be tied up with international duties until the end of November. Though several re-signings have been confirmed, he is the first new addition to Houston’s roster for the 2019 Major League Rugby season with more to be unveiled in the coming weeks.