Scarlets have signed All Black Vaea Fifita from Premiership side Wasps.
The 29-year-old, who can play in the second row and back row, will join at the end of the season. Fifita has been described as a ‘freak of nature’ when he burst onto the international scene in 2017.
The Rugby Paper broke on 9th January 2022 that Fifita was heading to Llanelli.
The 29-year-old joined Wasps last summer as their star signing but has fallen foul of the Premiership’s salary cap reduction, with each side allowed to spend only £5m on their squads, although there is an exemption for one marquee player.
As a result, Wasps have had to offload Fifita with his former All Blacks team-mate Malakai Fekitoa also set to leave the Coventry-based club.
TRP understands there was considerable interest in Fifita from other English clubs, along with French and Japanese sides, but the Tongan-born star has opted to sign for the Scarlets.
Upon signing, Vaea Fifita told the club website: “My family and I cannot wait to be a part of the West Wales community. I will be working hard to achieve the ambitious goals that the club has set for the future.
“I have confidence that this group can bring pride and success to the people of the region. I look forward to meeting you all for the first time at Parc y Scarlets.”
An athletic, dynamic carrier with searing pace, he also boasts a commanding line-out presence and is renowned for his ability to steal opposition ball.
Fifta made a memorable first Test start against Argentina in the Rugby Championship, scoring a stunning individual try and has made 11 appearances in the famous New Zealand jersey.
Tongan born and raised, as a teenager he moved to New Zealand on a scholarship and went on to star in provincial rugby for Wellington and then Super Rugby for the Hurricanes, delivering a try-scoring appearance against the touring 2017 British & Irish Lions.
Fifita will link up with his former Hurricanes team-mates Sam Lousi and Blade Thomson at Parc y Scarlets, with Fifita and Thomson having been members of the Canes’ Super Rugby title-winning squad of 2016.
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said: “We have signed a world-class player in Vaea and this is a real statement of our intent and ambition as a club. Vaea is a superb athlete, an X-factor player with the all-round skill-set that fits with how we are looking to play at the Scarlets.
“He also brings a lot of experience at international and Super Rugby level and as well as adding Test-match quality to our pool of second rows, that experience will be invaluable to the young forwards that are coming through at the club.
“Vaea is the kind of player that gets fans out of their seats and it’s hugely exciting that he will be pulling on the Scarlets jersey next season. I am sure Scarlets fans will enjoy watching him and we can’t wait to welcome him to Parc y Scarlets in the summer.”
Scarlets General Manager of Rugby Jon Daniels admitted that: “Vaea has been top of our list of targets for quite some time.”
