Unwanted in his own country, Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius has been snapped up by the Australians.

The Waratahs confirmed on Friday that they are a step closer to finalising their 2012 Super Rugby squad with the acquisition of Pretorius.

Pretorius, who was again overlook this week after Charl McLeod was named in a provisional 49-man Springbok World Cup squad, has signed as the Waratahs' senior foreign player and will be with the team for the next two years.

Pretorius has just completed his best season of professional rugby as the top try scorer in the 2011 Super Rugby competition, equalling Bjorn Basson (Bulls) on nine tries.

He will join the Waratahs squad following his 2011 Currie Cup campaign for Griquas, and is looking forward to heading to Sydney.

"This is an exciting opportunity which was just too good to refuse," said Pretorius.

"When you play Super Rugby you get to experience a lot of cities and my last two trips to Sydney have been really enjoyable.

"The Waratahs clearly have a culture of high performance and I'm looking forward to being a part of that.

"I had my best Super Rugby season so far this year, but I'd like to think that I am still improving as a player, and I'm looking forward to developing my game further in Sydney.

"It's going to be extremely exciting to be playing alongside players such as Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper as well as all the other Wallabies in the squad.

"I know it's a few months away yet, but I can't wait to get to Sydney."

An Under-18 representative of Central Region in Craven Week 2003, Pretorius went on to play for Griffons in Under-19 and Under-20 before becoming a member of the Free State Under-21 squad in 2005.

Pretorius joined the Falcons in 2006, where he played Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup until midway through the 2007 campaign, when he joined Griquas.

A strong season in 2008 earned Pretorius a call-up to the Emerging Springboks and was drafted into Super 14 squad of the Cheetahs franchise.

Pretorius made his Super Rugby debut against the Western Force in 2009.

He went on to play nine matches in his first season and earned selection in the Royal XV which played the British & Irish Lions.

Pretorius has played every match for the Cheetahs over the past two seasons, and throughout his provincial and Super Rugby career has an impressive strike rate of one try per every 2.4 matches.