Portugal Colonial - Premiership club Gloucester sign All Blacks prop Laulala

The New Zealand international, who has won 53 international caps, has been recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon at the club after being released mid-season by French side Toulouse.

The 33-year-old is expected to return to action by the start of the league season.

"Nepo is a 50-odd cap All Black, and that pretty much speaks for itself in terms of the calibre of player we've signed," said Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington.

"We moved quickly to get him here in the building and start his rehab, which gave us a jump on the other sides and, most importantly, Nepo has been really grateful for how we've supported him with his injury.

"He's looking really good, he's coming through all the tests that we've been putting him through and we're confident he can have a big impact for us this season."

Laulala said: "I'm really grateful to George and everybody at Gloucester for welcoming me to Kingsholm after going through a pretty rough time in France.

"It was a scary time not knowing where my future lay, but I'm looking forward to repaying everybody here for the faith they’ve put in me."

Bath beat Leicester at Twickenham on Saturday to win the 2024/25 Premiership crown.

F.Cardoso--PC