Code-hopping Jordan Petaia lands at his new French rugby club

Australia wing Jordan Petaia has wasted little time making his presence felt at new club Perpignan after landing in Spain on Friday morning.

The 25-year-old, capped 31 times by the Wallabies, touched down at Barcelona airport on September 19 before heading straight to Aimé-Giral to greet his new teammates at training just hours later.

Petaia, who stands at 1.90m and 103kg, arrives from Brisbane after ending his contract with the Reds to pursue a stint in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. That adventure was cut short when he was released in the summer while injured, and the flyer has opted to return to rugby union with USAP.

His signing is a major coup for club president François Rivière, who announced the deal to widespread surprise in the build-up to the new Top 14 season.

Perpignan only avoided relegation last term thanks to a narrow 13-11 play-off win over Grenoble, and sit 12th after two rounds this season. Determined to avoid another dogfight, the Catalan side have stacked their squad with reinforcements including former Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie, Fiji back row Peceli Yato and now Petaia, regarded as the centrepiece of their recruitment.

The Australian must first complete his medical checks before beginning full training, but is expected to link up officially with the squad on Monday. He is unlikely to feature immediately, yet he will be the headline attraction when Racing 92 visit Aimé-Giral this weekend.