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The Utah Warriors have signed former All Blacks forward Adam Thomson and Fiji Sevens star Vatemo Ravouvou. Both players will join the club for the remainder of the 2019 Major League Rugby season and have committed for 2020. The signings were confirmed at halftime of Utah’s game against Austin on Saturday evening.
Thomson won 29 caps for New Zealand between 2008-2012, primarily as a blindside flanker. He was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad, starting the pool matches against Japan and France. After a long career with the Highlanders, Thomson moved to Japan in 2013 but returned to Super Rugby first with the Queensland Reds in 2015 and Melbourne Rebels in 2016.
Now 37, Thomson spent much of 2018 recovering from a spinal infection that saw him hospitalised for nearly two months. He acts as an immediate replacement for the injured Jackson Kaka, ruled out for the season with neck and shoulder problems.
Adding versatility to the backline is Ravouvou. The 28-year-old won a Gold Medal with Fiji at the 2016 Olympic Games. Since 2013 he has appeared in 38 HSBC Sevens Series events, scoring 912 points. He also took part in the 2017 World Cup Sevens and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ravouvou was part of the 2018-19 Fiji squad but was dropped for off-field indiscipline after the Cape Town tournament. He has had limited 15-a-side experience, appearing in four games for the Western Sydney Rams in Australia’s National Rugby Championship in 2016 as a flyhalf or fullback.
