Steve Mafi signs for London Irish
As originally revealed by RugbyPass earlier this year, London Irish have confirmed the services of Tonga international Steve Mafi who will join the club early in the 2019/20 season.
The Australian born second row forward, who represented Australia Schools in 2007, made 60 appearances for Leicester Tigers during a four-year spell in the Premiership. Following his time at Leicester, Mafi returned to Australia to take up a contract with the Western Force in Super Rugby.
In 2016, Mafi returned to the Northern Hemisphere signing for Castres in the Top 14 where he has gone on to make over 40 appearances. He was part of the Castres side that defeated Montpellier in the Top 14 final in 2018, crossing for a try.
The versatile forward, who also operates in the back row, has 29 caps to his name for Tonga, including three appearances in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
“Steve is another experienced addition to our squad moving forward”, said Declan Kidney, London Irish’s director of rugby.
“We know how demanding and challenging the Gallagher Premiership is, so it is important that we assemble a squad to meet the demands. Steve has a wealth of experience and the ability to cover several positions in the second and back row. We look forward to welcoming him to the club.”
Steve Mafi is excited to be joining the Exiles, saying: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to return to England and test myself in the Premiership. London Irish is entering an exciting period in its history and I am thrilled to have signed.
“Next season will be a great challenge for myself and for the club and I cannot wait to run out and play for my first game in the famous green shirt.”
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I wonder Jake, who do you think is the best fit for Australia as a coach? Not since Joe Schmidt took over as coach did Australia look any good, however, there is always this debate around not having an Aussie coach by the fans and so called pundits and old players.
Some of them are changing their minds now however, but I would love to see who you would choose. I think Joe Schmidt is an excellent coach, who puts in everything for the team he is coaching. To him, there is no such thing as being biased.
Go to commentsExcept for the 6N he has won nothing. No WC's, no Lions tours not anything. He is ranked even behind Eddie Jones, who has won a WC with SA and have a better victory rate than Gatland. Keep your so called "best coach" in the world. No one but Wales wants him. A very harsh Hell No comes to mind if anyone asks if they would want Gatland as head coach.
Guess the man is wearing blinders. Rob Howley is howling mad describing Gatland as the best. What a load of 💩
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