London Irish have today announced the signing of England centre Shontayne Hape on a two-year contract from English Premiership rivals Bath.
The 29-year-old dual international made 58 appearances for Bath since switching codes from Bradford Bulls in 2008. The New Zealand rugby league international qualifies for England through residency rules and is currently in Martin Johnson's England RBS 6 Nations Squad.
Hape started the victories over Wales and Italy so far in this year's tournament and will link up with his new side this summer.
"Shontayne is a player I have been very impressed with since his move to rugby union. He is physically very intimidating and his ability to offload out of the tackle will trouble any defence. We have a lot of young talent coming through the club and the experience that Shontayne brings will also help them to develop further," said London Irish head coach Toby Booth.