Rugby New York have signed loose forward Pago Haini for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The USA Sevens international trades the west coast for east having played for the LA Giltinis this past year.
After playing for the Houston SaberCats in 2018, Haini joined the Free Jacks in 2019 but did not make any match day appearances during their 2020 campaign. With LA this past season he became a fan-favorite through his social media posts and played a dozen games including the Championship Final.
The 30-year-old American Samoan now makes the move to New York as Hanco Germishuys moves in the opposite direction, though sources indicate Haini was not part of the trade that sent Germishuys to LA. New York’s back row stable also includes newcomers Joe Basser and Brendon O’Connor, with Benjamín Bonasso and Kara Pryor each returning for a second campaign.