Kiwi Hepetema signs up to life as an Exile

LONDON IRISH have signed New Zealander Terrence Hepetema.

The 26-year-old centre, born in Brent in London, arrives from Kiwi side Bay of Plenty, where he played for three years either side of a stint at The Blues.

Hepetema also has experience of playing in both the Premiership and Championship during a season at Leicester Tigers and Doncaster Knights in the past five years.

“Terrence is a good player and will add to our options in the backs,” said Exiles director of rugby Declan Kidney.

“He’s got experience of playing in Australia, New Zealand and here in England and we believe he’s got plenty of potential to improve.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming Terrence to Hazelwood.”

Meanwhile, London Irish have been found guilty of breaching ticket-touting rules.

As reported in The Telegraph, the Exiles sold on a pair of tickets which were specifically allocated for the club and club members for England’s game against South Africa earlier this month. They have been sanctioned with a cut to their allocation for next season, a decision upheld on appeal.

When contacted by The Wokingham Paper, a spokesman for London Irish said that they have “robust policies in place” and that the mistake had arisen from a “genuine administrative error” with the order cancelled before any tickets had changed hands.

On the pitch London Irish began their Championship Cup group campaign with a 35-7 win at Hartpury College on Saturday thanks to tries from Saia Fainga’a, Brendan McKibbin, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and Tom Fowlie.

“It’s a good score-line, without a doubt,” said head coach Les Kiss.

“One try against us which was a breakaway try and overall you’ve got to be happy with that part of it.

“The conditions came in. The ball was like a piece of soap and underfoot it was a bit tough in that first half so it was errors from both teams.

“But once we managed the ball a little bit better and managed to get the field position, every time we got in the 22 I think we got a massive return out of it.”

The Exiles host Cornish Pirates in the second group game at Madejski Stadium on Sunday (3pm kick-off).

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