Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Yorkshire snap up reinforcements from the Mitre 10 Cup, including a former NZ 7s star

By Alex Shaw
Captain Antonio Kiri Kiri of Manawatu leads his team onto the field prior to the round four Mitre 10 Cup match between Canterbury and Manawatu at AMI Stadium. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Yorkshire Carnegie have been given a boost after a dismal start to their Greene King IPA Championship season, with the addition of two Mitre 10 Cup players from New Zealand.

ADVERTISEMENT

Yorkshire currently sit bottom of English rugby’s second tier, with just one win from their opening seven games. It has been a stark fall from grace for the former Gallagher Premiership side, although the club’s current injury crisis is firmly behind their lowly position so far this season.

The club will be hoping that the additions of Antonio Kiri Kiri and Jade Te Rure from the Manawatu Turbos can help turnaround their season.

Te Rure, a former New Zealand U20 and Scottish-qualified fly-half, returns to Europe after a short stint at Edinburgh between 2014 and 2016. Unfortunately for Te Rure, that time at Edinburgh was plagued by knee injuries and he never really had the opportunity to leave his mark on the Guinness PRO14 side.

Continue reading below…
You may also like: Dave Rennie discusses international ambitions

Video Spacer

Kiri Kiri, a former New Zealand 7s representative and back row forward, will bring a dynamism to Yorkshire’s loose forward trio. He had been involved in the Blues’ preseason Super Rugby training camp earlier this year and has been a consistent force for Manuwatu in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship.

Director of rugby Chris Stirling was unsurprisingly pleased with the two additions to his squad, saying, “We are delighted to have attracted two players of the quality of Jade and Antonio. A great deal of work has been done in the last six months to develop our playing squad and it is nice to be able to begin the process of bringing those players in.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“I would like to thank our board of directors for backing the vision for the team and I am sure Jade and Antonio will make a real impact in the coming months with Yorkshire Carnegie.”

Given Yorkshire lost their last match, 72-5, to London Irish, Stirling will be hoping that that impact comes sooner, rather than later, and that Te Rure and Kiri Kiri aren’t the last additions Yorkshire make this season.

Watch: James Lowe reflects on Leinster’s stunning 52-3 victory over Wasps in the Heineken Champions Cup.

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Chasing The Sun | Series 1 Episode 1

Fresh Starts | Episode 2 | Sam Whitelock

Royal Navy Men v Royal Air Force Men | Full Match Replay

Royal Navy Women v Royal Air Force Women | Full Match Replay

Abbie Ward: A Bump in the Road

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 9

James Cook | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

New Zealand victorious in TENSE final | Cathay/HSBC Sevens Day Three Men's Highlights

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

FEATURE
FEATURE Thierry Futeu: 'The policeman chased me, I pretended to throw a stone at his head and ran for the border' Thierry Futeu: 'The policeman chased me, I pretended to throw a stone at his head and ran for the border'
Search