The Melbourne Rebels have bolstered their roster with the signing of winger Filipo Daugunu.
Daugunu signs on a two-year deal, joining former Reds teammates Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Taniela Tupou and Alex Mafi in making the move south.
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The 28-year-old has played eight games for the Wallabies since his debut in 2020, excited for a fresh start.
“Having played my entire professional career in Queensland, the time was right to experience something new and come to such a great city like Melbourne,” said Daugunu in a statement.
“Queensland have made me the player I am today and I will be forever grateful for that, but I am looking forward to this next chapter in my career and playing for the Melbourne Rebels.
“The Rebels have played an exciting brand of rugby this year and being able to add to that, and help build on what they’re already doing well, that’s exciting.”
He also adds to the Wests Bulldogs' contingency at the Rebels, which includes the likes of Carter Gordon, Jordan Uelese and Glen Vaihu amongst others.
Attack coach Tim Sampson was pleased with the signing of Daugunu, proving a perfect replacement after the departure of Italian international Monty Ioane.
“It is important to recruit players who we think will suit our game model and Filipo is certainly a player who was of immediate interest to us,” said Sampson.
“I have always admired his all-round skill set and without playing all games this season, he still managed some impressive individual stats, notably being in the top 20 for line breaks across the competition and also in the top 10 for breakdown steals.
“We look forward to Filipo adding his class to our existing group of quality backs”.
