2026-7 Southern Hemisphere Signings by Welsh Clubs
Form, reputation and a punt — we take a closer look at the latest signings and ask who will make the biggest contribution in the coming seaon?
Players are signed for a number of different reasons – as someone the coach sees has potential, that they can work with to create an even better player; as someone the marketing team sees good for promoting the team and selling jerseys; as someone signed as temporary cover rather than season-long contribution or as someone seen as a good role model that can guide and influence the younger members of the squad. And of course, for most players, we are not privy to how much money has been invested in that signing and so assessing value for money is impossible.
So here we’ll examine how each player performed over the past year and consider whether, if they continue along the same trajectory, they are likely to make a positive contribution to their new club’s performance over the coming season.
We’ll categorise these signings according to whether they represent recruitment based on reputation, a proven record, or something of an unknown punt.
Finally, we’ll pick our signing of the season: the player with the most consistent record whose form we believe is likely to improve during their time in Welsh rugby.
Marika Koroibete
Thirty four year old Marika Koroibete has a long career in both the fifteen and thirteen man game since he made his debut for Wests Tigers in the NRL back in 2012. He went on to play 63 games for the Wallabies. In Super Rugby he played for the Melbourne Rebels (following two years in Melbourne with the Storm in the NRL), before playing in Japan with the Saitama Wild Knights for five seasons.
Looking at his record in Japan League One over the last three seasons, there’s been no standout performance. He was a regular starter for the Wild Knights on the left wing, but despite his team finishing second in the league, only scored three tries in his last season with the club. It will be fascinating to see how a player who’s average score is quite high in the Japanese league, fares in European rugby. After a long career in the sport, it remains to be seen how hungry Koroibete is for success, but we mark this signing down as reputational.
Recruitment Profile
Gareth Anscombe
Thirty Five year old Gareth Anscombe endured a miserable time in France during his stint with Bayonne. This year, he’s had only 3 minutes of rugby, coming on as a substitute against Toulouse. Since his last game for Gloucester in May 2025, he played in only five games for Bayonne, following a shin injury. His time with Gloucester saw a record peppered with outstanding performances (notably against Exeter both home and away as well as against Bristol where he turned in another man of the match performance. Other performances were mediocre at best marking Anscombe as someone who is a big-occasion player. Without doubt his presence in the squad will help younger players like Sam Costelow, but after so long out of the game, if remains to be see whether he can enjoy an injury-free run. We mark Anscombe’s signing as risky, as he’s a player with an unproven recent record.
Recruitment Profile
Liam Wright
Out of the game since facing the Crusaders in Match 2005, Wright's been largely out of the sport for two years ... having played only 57 minutes of Super Rugby in 2025. Born in Durban, South Africa, he moved with his family to Australia at the age of seven. Wright is Welsh qualified through his grandfather. Renown as a smart and articulate individual, he spent a time working in the commentary box. During 2025, he suffered a sequence of injuries which reduced his game time dramatically. In 2024, he put in a number of quality performances against the Blues and Western Force. There'll be many people willing Liam to succeed on his return but when you've only played two games of pro-rugby in the last two years, he'll face a steep learning curve. The talk is that he's spent his time out of the game getting his body in shape, and if that's the case this could be a smart signing by the Ospreys. Bearing all these factors in mind, we mark this as an unknown punt.
Recruitment Profile
Lalakai Foketi
Foketi grew up in Sydney having made the journey across the ditch with his family as a young man. Although making his debut with the Melbourne Rebels, he left Australia as a 20 year old to play a season with Bayonne in the Top 14. As a 23 year old he played seven seasons with the Waratahs before enduring a string of injuries to his head, groin and shoulder. He left Australia in July 2025 featuring for the Chiefs in the 2026 Super Rugby season. Since December 2025 he has been in legal dispute with Rugby Australia over unpaid wages. At the Chiefs, Foketi only started three games, and was subbed early in all three. For the other games, he's been a bench player. Without doubt, Foketi will bring experience to the Ospreys, though given his track record how well will he fit in? At the age of 31, he'll be keen to prove that his best days are not behind him. We mark his signing as an unknown punt.
Performance Profile
Scott Sio
After 10 years playing for the Brumbies in Super Rugby, Sio headed north joining Exeter in 2022. Four years on and the thirty four year old has signed by Cardiff. One of Sio's standouts is his durability - in the last five years, he's averaging almost 900 minutes a year. In the major global rugby competitions that we track, 421 players have worn the number one jersey, but only 15 averages more minutes per year than Scott – and two of those are now in retirement. 4481 minutes only 11 props played more minutes.
Whilst Sio's carries are pretty much in line with average for professional props, his power with ball in hand means that he makes more distance. He also has an offloading game ... a rarity in Welsh rugby. In defence, he has a good turnover record and his discipline is good.
Props playing at the top of their game well into their late thirties is increasingly common, and Cardiff will be hoping that Sio stays injury free. If that happens, the experience he brings to the squad could prove a powerful positive. His signing is one of the best in recent years for Cardiff.
Player Performance
| 1 |
|
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Dany Priso |
1,154
|
| 2 |
|
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Rodrigue Neti |
1,056
|
| 3 |
|
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Thomas du Toit |
1,046
|
| 4 |
|
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Nicky Smith |
1,032
|
| 5 |
|
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Jefferson Poirot |
1,023
|
| 6 |
|
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Beka Gigashvili |
1,023
|
| 7 |
|
|
Enzo Forletta |
1,012
|
| 8 |
|
|
Gerhard Steenekamp |
998
|
| 9 |
|
|
Adam Brocklebank |
981
|
| 10 |
|
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Joe Marler |
980
|
| 11 |
|
|
Steven Kitshoff |
968
|
| 12 |
|
|
Trevor Davison |
954
|
| 13 |
|
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Moses Alo-Emile |
953
|
| 14 |
|
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Reda Wardi |
948
|
| 15 |
|
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Alex Waller |
930
|
| 16 |
|
|
Mako Vunipola |
929
|
| 17 |
|
|
Guram Gogichashvili |
909
|
Chris Apoua
Auckland-born Apoua has spent most of his rugby career – other than a year playing in Romania, during the time Lynn Howells was coaching the national team – at the fringes of Super Rugby playing NPC rugby in New Zealand. In 2022, he finally made the breakthrough at the age of 30 and picked up a contract with now-defunct Moana Pasifika, where he racked up 1262 minutes of rugby during the last four seasons. A physically impressive mobile prop, his tackle record and average metre's run per game are some way above average.
During his first three seasons with Moana Pasifika, he was mostly used as a substitute tight head. In his 26 appearances, only six (just under a quarter) were as a starter.
During the 2026 season, he started almost three quarters of Moana Pasifika's games, but his average game time was on the low side - just under 49 minutes at tight head (average minutes for a tight head in 2026 on our database is 51 minutes, n=976). His two standout performance where against the Highlanders and the Western Force. Against the Highlanders, he carried the ball 11 times into contact, and beat three defenders with an offload thrown in as well. In defence, he made six tackles ... missing one. Against the Force, again it was his carrying that stood out, with five carries, whilst in defence he made seven tackles.
But overall, it is difficult to see why the Scarlets signed Apoua. Even though 34 years old is not old for a tight head prop, he's been a fringe Super Rugby player at best, with limited professional experience. His game time is also limited, so there will be doubts around his durability. But team budgets are tight and with the demise of Moana Pasifika, there's a high chance that they may have been able to pick up Apoua on a good deal. Nevertheless, he remains a relatively unknown punt.
Performance Profile
Cullen Grace
Cullen Grace was the youngest player to be named in any of the New Zealand Super Rugby squads for the 2020 season, when he made his debut for the Canterbury Crusaders. In his first two seasons with the club he alternated between the six and eight jerseys. In the 2022 season, he featured in all but two of the club's fixtures, also playing a four, including an outstanding performance against the Western Force in Perth.
During the next two seasons, he settled into the six jersey but – despite strong showings against the Hurricanes and Blues - his performances slipped away as the season progressed.
As his career in Canterbury progressed he suffered a number of minor injuries which limited his progress and finally he broke a bone in his knee which meant he played no rugby in 2026.
Grace had a reputation as a rugged back rower, who could also contribute in the lineout. His form at number 8 before his injury was better than that at six, but the Scarlets will be hoping that he's put his numerous injuries behind him and can return to his best form. He's also schooled in Crusaders' rugby culture, and Nigel Davies will be hoping that Grace will act as a role model for younger players in the squad. However, given his string of injuries, this is a risky signing for the Scarlets.
Recruitment Profile
Semisi Paea
Semisi Paea was a regular for Moana Pasifika in their final season in Super Rugby. He started all but one of their 11 games in 2026, averaging just under an hour per game. Born in Tonga, like many of his countrymen, he's a big tackler scoring well above average in dominant tackles. Indeed he's also a standout in tackles per game.
In attack, he doesn't seem to have an offload game and his metres run and carries per game are well below average. Discipline could be an issue, but the same size of games is too small to draw any conclusions.
At set piece time, he was used infrequently in the lineout by Moana Pasifika.
Expect to see Paea used by Cardiff more on the blind side than open side, as a big tackler against physical packs.
Performance Profile
Le Roux Malan
When Johan Mulder signed for Cardiff, he was little than a fringe player for the Gauteng Lions. Two seasons later and his improvement has been so great under Corniel van Zyl that some are suggesting he'll make the Welsh team during the 2029-30 season. van Zyl will be hoping that Malan undergoes a similar transformation at Cardiff.
Born in Namibia, Malan is a graduate of the Paarl Boys' High School, one of South Africa's most prestigous rugby schools. As a 23 year old, he signed for New England Free Jacks where he played for three seasons before heading to semi-professional rugby in New Zealand. Last season, he featured nine times for Natal, mostly at outside centre, but sometimes on the wing.
Malan's performances for Natal rarely progressed beyond the sub-average, other than an excellent game in the controversial afair versus the Ospreys in Bridgend, but even then he only lasted until just after half time following a head-on-head tackle from Daniel Kasende.
van Zyl clearly fields Malan's attacking prowess as an offloader and a carrier are foundations on which to build, but Malan has yet to impress as anything above average in his games at Natal.
Performance Profile
Lawson Creighton
Equally versatile at both outside half and inside centre, Brisbane-born Creighton also featured at fullback for the NSW Waratahs. The himself prefers the 10 jersey though, despite seven of his last eight appearances being at outside half.
Creighton is more of an attacking runner than tactical kicker, ranking strongly in defenders beaten. In defence, he has a high workrate ranking strongly in tackles made. His discipline is excellent - he's yet to be carded in professional rugby and his penalty count ranks below the positional average.
A physically imposing presence, Creighton is a proven presence in Super Rugby, with a largely injury-free track record. The 2026 Super Rugby season was his strongest to date and he finished the season strongly. In the past season, he's put in some outstanding performances against the Western Force, Fijian Drua and ACT Brumbies
.With a proven track record and a versatile skill set, Creighton has all the skills and attributes to make a real success of his time with the Ospreys. Although this contract is his first outside Australia, he has a strong track record behind him which suggests his signing is grounded in proven results rather than reputation. An astute signing, we tip Creighton to become one of the most successful imports for the Ospreys.