Stade Francais sign Ngani Laumape

Stade Francais have confirmed thec capture of All Blacks centre Ngani Laumape. The signing of the powerful midfielder is a major coup for Stade, who announced a raft of new recruits today.

Laumape has featured for the All Blacks in recent years but has failed to nail down the famous black jersey at 12 since he moved from the NRL to rugby union in 2016.  The 26-year-old has earned just 13 caps since his move, a selection snub that has frustrated much of his strong New Zealand fanbase.

Palmerston North-born Laumape attended Palmerston North Boys' High School and was selected for the New Zealand Schools team in 2011. Despite his early rugby success, Laumape decided to sign with the Warriors rugby league team when he left school and by 2014 he was an established starter in the squad.

The following year he investigated a return to rugby and made his Investec Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes in the opening match of the 2016 season. He went on to make 11 appearances, including seven starts, to help the Hurricanes to their inaugural Super Rugby title.

Laumape made his All Blacks Test debut in 2017 coming off the back of a stunning Investec Super Rugby season where he topped the try-scoring list with 15 tries.

The powerful midfielder made an assured Test debut against the British & Irish Lions, scoring an outstanding try in the third Test and went on to make three appearances later in the Investec Rugby Championship and also toured to the Northern Hemisphere later that year, playing two non-Tests. He followed that up with six appearances in 2018.