Born in Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal, Vincent Koch was schooled at Huguenot High School in Wellington before working his way up through the Blue Bulls, UP Tuks and the Pumas - a patient pathway that included the SA President's XV side which won the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup.
After a Super Rugby stint with the Stormers, Koch joined Saracens in 2016, winning two Premiership titles (2018, 2019) and two Champions Cups (2017, 2019), with later spells at Wasps and Stade Francais. He returned to his home province ahead of the 2023/24 URC, making his Sharks debut in March 2024 and earning Man of the Match as the Sharks beat Gloucester to lift the 2024 EPCR Challenge Cup.
A double Rugby World Cup winner with the Springboks (2019, 2023) with more than 60 Test caps, Koch's scrummaging remains world-class, and his experience anchors the Sharks' tighthead stocks into 2026/27.
