John McKee leaves Leinster to fill void left by Springbok

Leinster hooker John McKee will join the Scartlets at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has spent his entire professional career to date in Dublin, amassing 46 appearances for Leinster.

His game time, however, has been limited behind Ireland and British & Irish Lions duo Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher.

He will move to Parc y Scarlets to compete with Wales hooker Ryan Elias for the No.2 jersey, but will fill the void left from departing South Africa hooker Marnus van der Merwe, who is set to join Munster at the end of the season.

The Irishman is the third Scarlets signing ahead of next season, following deals for Cardiff loosehead prop Corey Domachowski and Bath lock Harvey Cuckson.

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“I’m buzzing about the move,” McKee said. “The opportunity to join the Scarlets was one that really excited me straight away and from the first call I had with Nigel, Dwayne and Cubby, the passion they have for the club really struck me.

“I’m looking forward to getting over there, meeting the boys, the staff, connecting with the supporters and hopefully adding to the environment.

“I was 24th man last season when the Scarlets beat Leinster in Llanelli and I remember thinking at the time how much the fans got behind the side and how passionate they were.

“This is a fresh slate for me, I have loved my time with Leinster, but like every rugby player, you want to be playing regularly.

“I know the Scarlets haven’t had the results they wanted this season, but there have been a number of close-run games and you can see the direction the team is moving in, the young talent coming through and the style of rugby they want to play. I am looking forward to playing a part in that.”

Interim director of rugby Nigel Davies added: “John is a player we are really excited to bring to the Scarlets because he fits exactly the type of profile we want in this squad.

“He comes from an outstanding environment at Leinster where standards are exceptionally high every single day and we believe that experience will be hugely valuable for us.

“He is physical, competitive and has proven himself at URC and Champions Cup level, despite competing against some of the best hookers in world rugby for opportunities.

“What also stood out was his hunger to come here, compete and grow his game. We want players who are ambitious, who want to challenge themselves and who are excited by where this group is heading.

“We are building genuine competition across the squad because that is what drives standards and improves performances. We have seen the positive impact that competition has had within the group over the last couple of seasons and John will add strongly to that.”