Coventry Rugby have confirmed the signing of highly-experienced former England forward Matt Kvesic.
The 31-year-old back-rower joins from Italian side Zebre Parma, where he finished last season following the collapse of Worcester Warriors.
Kvesic made more than 200 senior appearances during his Premiership career with Worcester, Gloucester and Exeter and he now adds his experience to a Coventry side which claimed an impressive third place in last season’s Championship.
Kvesic has also donned the England jersey on four occasions since his international debut during a tour against Argentina in June 2013. His most recent appearance came in a Rugby World Cup warm-up clash against Italy in September 2019.
Kvesic eagerly expressed his enthusiasm in heading to the Butts Park Arena, joining close friend and former teammate from Exeter and Worcester, Will Chudley.
“I’m really looking forward to playing some rugby; I’m still really hungry to play and contribute to the team,” he said.
“The Championship is a tough, competitive league and hopefully we can close the gap on those top two teams and go past them.”
“I’ve been well informed by Will that this is a real family club, and you can see with the number of memberships just how energetic our home games will be. It should be really good fun, I’m looking forward to it.”
The major coup for Coventry serves as more evidence that they intend to keep up the battle at the top of the table after they fined only ten points off runaway leading pair Jersey and Ealing, 21 points clear of fourth-placed Bedford Blues.
And boss Alex Rae believes that Kvesic’s experience will prove to be invaluable going forward for his relatively youthful squad.
“We’re delighted to bring Matt to Coventry,” he said. “He’s a proven top-end Premiership player who’s also been capped for England.
“The thing that impressed me most was his desire and enthusiasm to come and have an impact on the field for Coventry and also to help our younger players develop by sharing his experience.
“Everyone you speak to only has good things to say about Matt as a person which was equally appealing, so we think it’s a terrific fit and one to be excited about.”
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