London Welsh sign Hala’ufia from Scarlets

English Premiership Rugby Club London Welsh have signed former London Irish Number 8 Chris Hala’ufia from Welsh region the Scarlets.

Hala’ufia joined London Welsh on a two-week loan basis last month, making his debut for the Club off the bench against Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership, and then starting against Newcastle Falcons.

Hala’ufia, 36, had joined the Scarlets in the summer ahead of the 2014/15 season from London Irish, where he’d spent the previous six seasons. He also gained Premiership experience with Harlequins, where he played for two seasons.

In all, the hugely experienced back row forward has made 107 Premiership appearances, scoring 12 tries.

Capped 24 times by Tonga between 2000-2009, Hala’ufia scored five international tries.

London Welsh head coach Justin Burnell said, “Chris impressed me with his performance against Newcastle, but he also impressed me on and off the training pitch during the two weeks he was with us.

“His attitude was excellent; he was very respectful of the environment at London Welsh and he got his head down and worked hard. His performance against Newcastle was one of the best by one of our back row forwards this season.

“He’s got the experience of a huge number of Aviva Premiership games and he’s also got that physicality we want – he’s able to get over that gain line.”