Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club the London Irish has confirmed that Setaimata Sa, the Samoan international will link up with the players of the club this week.
The former star for the Catalan Dragons was signed up by The Exiles last year on a three year deal but was unavailable to the club after being denied a work permit in the United Kingdom. But now, all the protocol issues have been sorted out and the Samoan has been given his UK visa which means he will be available for The Irish for the remainder of the season.
The move to the London club means Sa will return to his original sporting roots. Originally from the territory of the Canterbury Crusaders, he was a rugby union star at schoolboy level in New Zealand during which time he was scouted by the Sydney Roosters of the NRL back in 2006. He subsequently made the switch to the Super League with the Catalan Dragons back in 2010. Sa has a brilliant scoring record during his stint in the rugby league during which he scored 13 tries in 66 appearances for the Sydney Roosters and another 10 tries in 39 games for The Dragons and the London Irish hope that he will be giving the same edge to their side.
Sa is also a dual rugby league international, having been capped by New Zealand three times as he helped them to win the World Cup title back in 2008 as well as another five times by Samoa. He made his debut for Samoa in international rugby union last year when he was given a run out against Canada.
Brian Smith, the Director of Rugby of the London Irish stated that he is glad that everything is finally sorted out and the player himself cannot wait to play as well.