Glasgow Warriors have announced the signing of Fijian forward Jale Vakaloloma on a two-year-deal subject to visa and a medical.
The 22-year-old 6-foot 5-inch Fijian normally lines-out in the back-row but can also slot in comfortably as a second-row.
He signs for Glasgow after an impressive spell in Australia and is excited about the prospect of playing in Europe.
“This is a great opportunity for me to play with a top European side and I can’t wait to get started. Working under the coaching team led by Dave Rennie can only improve my game and I know many Fijians have gone to Glasgow and been successful and I hope to follow in their footsteps. At the moment my focus is on training hard and once I travel over to Scotland I will work even harder to earn a place in the team,” he said.
Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has been impressed by Vakaloloma’s form over the past while and believes that joining the Glasgow-based side will help him fulfil his potential.
“We’re hugely excited by Jale’s raw talent and believe he has the potential to grow into an excellent player in our environment. He is a really impressive athlete; dynamic, powerful and skilful. He’s extremely dangerous in open play and his versatility will be important for our squad depth, especially in a World Cup year. He has been a standout player in club footy in Australia and we’re looking forward to him making the step up with us this season,” he said.
Vakaloloma has been named in Fiji’s World Cup training squad and could be heading to the tournament in Japan later this year which may mean he won’t join the squad until November.
However, when he arrives, he will feel right at home as he joins fellow Fijians Niko Matawalu and Mesu Dolokoto at the club for the 2019/20 season.
