Waratahs lock in League star
TRANSFER NEWS: The NSW Waratahs have secured the signature of former Australian Schoolboy, Tepai Moeroa.
Moeroa has penned a two-year deal with NSW Rugby which will see him remain at Daceyville until at least the end of the 2021 Super Rugby season.
Currently, with the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL), Moera has notched more than 100 appearances after making his debut at just 18-years-of-age – representing the Prime Minister’s XIII, the World All Stars and the Cook Islands during that time.
A product of Newington College, Moeroa played Australian Schoolboy rugby and won silver with Australia’s Sevens team at the 2013 Youth Olympics in Sydney.
Moeroa made his mark as a centre in his rugby union days, but shifted to the forward pack when he made the switch to the NRL with the 23-year-old now weighing in at 112kg and standing at 190cm.
NSWRU General Manager of Rugby, Tim Rapp was excited to bring a player of Moeroa’s potential back to the 15-man game.
“Tepai is a phenomenal athlete and it’s no secret we’ve been interested in getting him back to rugby for a long time,” Rapp said.
“He’s got great pedigree in our game thanks to his time at Newington and in the Australian Schoolboys setup.
“This is a great signing for us, we think Tepai has all the attributes to excel at Super Rugby level and given his previous experience in the game he’s in a great position to hit the ground running – we can’t wait to have him on board.”
Moeroa was looking forward to returning to the game he excelled in as a schoolboy.
“I played rugby union throughout high school at Newington where I worked with Rappy [Tim Rapp], it’s nice to be back and I’m really excited to represent the Waratahs,” Moeroa said.
“I feel like this is the right time for me to come back [to rugby] and I’m in a position where I have time to get established in Super Rugby and then challenge myself to achieve more.
“In speaking with Tim [Rapp] and Andrew [Hore] before signing I knew this was going to be a great place for me to reintroduce myself to the game to develop and achieve those goals.
“The Waratahs are home to some fantastic players, I’m looking forward to working with them and getting started in the pre-season.”
Moeroa is expected to arrive at Daceyville in late-2019 to begin preparations for the 2020 Super Rugby season.
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