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Rugby ATL’s recruitment drive looks to be complete as two more professionals will join the expansion side for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. Tonga ‘A’ prop Duane Aholelei and outside back Rory van Vugt are set to arrive in Georgia early in the new year.
Aholelei has most recently been employed at French powerhouse ASM Clermont Auvergne, where he played three Top 14 games after signing a short-term deal as a World Cup medical joker in July. Primarily a tighthead, he has previously played alongside older brother and former Tonga prop Eddie with Manly Marlins in Australia, and then with Waitohi in Picton, New Zealand. The 30-year-old suited up for Tonga ‘A’ in both the 2017 and 2018 World Rugby Pacific Challenge.
Joining after two seasons of Mitre 10 Cup rugby with Southland Stags is van Vugt. A randy runner who play swing or fullback, the 22-year-old recently signed a two-year extension with Southland that will see him returning to New Zealand in the MLR off-season. van Vugt played international touch rugby for New Zealand prior to securing his first professional deal.
