Harlequins line up wing king Alofa
WING Alofa Alofa will become Harlequins latest signing if the Samoan international passes a fitness test next week.
Alofa, the New Zealandborn Samoan internationa, was ruled out for several months with a left knee injury a year ago playing for Top 14 club La Rochelle.
The 25-year-old, who has Australian citizenship, suffered ruptured cruciate ligaments in his left knee and required knee reconstruction surgery and this will be the focus of the medical assessment by Quins.
Alofa joined La Rochelle from the Waratahs in 2014 having switched from the NRL's Sydney Roosters to Sydney rugby union club West Harbour.
John Kingston, the Quins director of rugby, has been watching Alofa in training with the club and if the medial report is positive then he will join a back division already bolstered by the arrival of Ruaridh Jackson, the Scotland No.10 from Premiership rivals Wasps.
Kingston said: “I’ve made a couple of signings over the summer out of necessity for various reasons, including the retirement from playing of Nick Easter.
“We will be making an announcement on the latest signing next week.”
The interest in Alofa comes after Quins announced that Olympic silver medallist Ollie Lindsay-Hague has left the Club to pursue other options in his playing career.
The 25-year-old said: “Harlequins has been a huge part of my life and I’m sad that my time with the Club has come to an end.
“Having returned from the Olympics, I’m going to take some time to think about the next step in my career and see where things take me.”
Kingston added: “Ollie has been a dependable and loyal member of the Harlequins squad for many years, I have no doubt he will make a huge impact wherever he continues his career.”