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Highlanders sign young halfback to accompany Aaron Smith and Folau Fakatava

(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The Highlanders have confirmed the signing of young halfback James Arscott, who joins the Super Rugby Pacific outfit on a two-year deal.

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After making his debut for the Dunedin-based franchise against the Waratahs during last year’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, Arscott has been signed on a full-time basis as a replacement for departing veteran Kayne Hammington.

Having made 54 appearances for the Highlanders since shifting south from the Chiefs in 2016, Hammington has left to sign with a club in Japan.

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That has paved the way for Arscott to join the Highlanders as an understudy to All Blacks pair Aaron Smith and Folau Fakatava.

A Timaru local who relocated to Dunedin to play for Otago Boys’ High School in 2017, Arscott made the New Zealand Barbarians Schools team the following year and was signed by Otago on a development contract.

Since then, the 21-year-old has become a regular feature for Otago in the NPC, making his provincial debut in 2019 before making a total of 17 appearances in the domestic competition.

Formerly a member of the Highlanders High Performance Programme, Arscott described it as a dream come true to have signed for the team he has supported since he was a youngster.

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“For me becoming a Highlander has been a dream of mine since I was four years old and pulled on my first pair of boots for Timaru Celtic,” Arscott said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“Being an ex-Otago Boys High pupil, coming through the Otago Academy, Highlanders High Performance system and playing for my club Green Island gives me a deep appreciation for this region and the people in it. It really does mean everything to me.”

Newly-appointed Highlanders head coach Clarke Dermody lauded Arscott as a player with significant potential who has a bright future ahead of him.

“Jimmy has worked extremely hard for this opportunity and it’s great to see another young local player come through the system,” Dermody said.

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“Aside from his talent, what singles Jimmy out, is his genuine passion for our team, club, and region. He’s replacing the ultimate team man in Kayne Hammington, and I believe Jimmy can go on to make a big contribution to our club.”

The acquisition of Arscott represents the third signing made by Dermody since his appointment as Highlanders head coach last week.

In the days after it was announced that Dermody would succeed his former boss Tony Brown, the Highlanders announced the signings of former Hurricanes and Chiefs wing Jonah Lowe and promising Dutch lock Fabian Holland on three-year deals.

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R
RedWarriors 6 hours ago
'Not a normal rugby team' - The Leinster flex that floored Jake White

I was actually at the match. Leinster were the outstanding team in the league stage. Leinster’s squad depth meant the Bulls could only nick a late win in Pretoria against an understrenght Leinster. Simple put, Leinster are significantly better this year compared to last. The Dublin match last year was a big win by Leinster. Yes they won by a point in the RDS three years ago but thats not relevant to yesterday.

As Leinster are such a dangerous team, it forces an opponent to focus on a strategy to undermine them and that way get their game on the pitch. Leinster allowed that against Northampton. But that was not going to happen again. The Bulls attack in last 10 minutes of the first half was as savage as anything in the URC this year. Yet Leinsters coaching plan repelled them allied to savage commitment from the players. The defense was outstanding, pressure at breakdown outstanding. Leinster did not win the European cup but arguably at their best this year no other European team could reach that height. They reached that yesterday. Leinster completely removed Bulls ability to hurt them.

And Croke Park….100 years ago the Brits fired machine guns into spectators injuring 100s and killing loads. No Irish team ever performs badly there. Same with Irish supporters. Opposition players might as well be Brit Tommies with machine guns.

I think a great Leinster team, played a great game plan, to the height of their power in a horrible stadium for opponents. If Bulls score before half time they were back in the match. They went down, but they went down fighting.

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