Exeter Chiefs have announced two impressive signings, ahead of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season. Sandy Park is set to welcome a former Junior All Black and a former Springboks U20, with the arrivals of centre Tamati Tua and prop Kwenzo Blose.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Beginning with Tua, the talented New Zealander makes the switch to the Gallagher Premiership from Australian Super Rugby side the ACT Brumbie, for whom he made 31 appearances and scored five tries. The midfielder is looking forward to testing himself in a new league alongside new teammates.
“I’ve always wanted to play overseas, and I had heard good things about the club from coaches and boys that had played in the Premiership before.
“I’m excited to be here and I’d like to do what I can to help to get more trophies in the cabinet.”
Growing up in Kaitaia upon New Zealand’s North Island, the talented youngster started his senior career in 2016 with National Provincial Championship side, Northland. Following strong performances for Northland in over 60 appearances, his talent was recognised by Auckland Super Rugby side, the Blues. They signed him to his first top-flight contract and gave him his debut in 2018 against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Moving on to the Brumbies squad in 2023, Tua soon formed a deadly partnership with Len Ikitau in the backline. A lethal threat with pace, Tua will be looking to use his skills to compliment the competitive edge of Chiefs centres Henry Slade and Joe Hawkins.
Director of Rugby Rob Baxter is pleased to have added depth to a key position in the Chiefs’ backline. However, Chiefs fans will have to wait to get their first glimpses of Tua in the famous black jersey, as the Kiwi heads to the medical bay with a problematic neck injury.
“People will be aware that centre is a position that we’ve had great strength in over a number of years. Through age, and players moving on, that’s slowly changed in terms of experience. We’ve got some great young players in that position now with guys like Zack Wimbush, Ben Hammerlsey and Tommy Wyatt being able to play there, and a guy like Nick Lilley who has played England age-grades.
“So, we’ve got good players but they’re younger and slightly inexperienced, so it’s an area we’ve been wanting to strengthen. We had a really good look at Tamati as he was playing very well for ACT Brumbies – he played right through to the late stages of the season – with him being one of their stand-out players.
“Unfortunately, he’s arrived with a neck issue which he picked up towards the end of last season’s campaign, so we’re now in a position where we’ve had to address that and it’s likely that he’ll need an operation shortly which will require a period of rehab.
“So, unfortunately he’s going to miss the start of the season for us, but we’re very confident he’ll be back on the pitch fairly early in the season and will be a player that will bring an awful lot to how we want to play, both in attack and defence.”
Onto Blose now, and the South African U20s capped loose-head arrives in the Northern Hemisphere from United Rugby Championship side, DHL Stormers. Settling into Devon following a pre-season spent with Chiefs, Blose is excited to add to the Chiefs shirt and take to the field with his new teammates.
“I’m really excited to join the Chiefs and I’m looking forward to contributing as much as I can to the club’s success.
“A club with huge ambitions, a loyal fan base and a rich history. I hope to add as much value as I can, and I can’t wait for the season to get underway.”
Born in Paulpietersburg, South Africa, the 27-year-old made his professional debut for Cape Town-based Western Province in 2018. Having made 41 appearances, Blose made the switch to the URC with the DHL Stormers and racked up 18 caps.
Blose has also made his mark on the age-grade international stage, gaining seven caps for the Junior Springboks. Director of Rugby Rob Baxter is intrigued to see what the experienced prop can bring to the first team pack.
“People will be aware that over the last couple of seasons we’ve lost a lot of experience at loosehead with guys like Alec Hepburn and Ben Moon either leaving or retiring. We were delighted with how durable Scott Sio was and how many games he played for us last season.
“We thought we had some back-up lined up with Nika Abuladze, but he was very fortunate to receive a fantastic offer from Montpellier and one which worked for him and his family, so we were happy to make that work. However, that did mean that we’ve had to go into the market to strengthen our crop of props.
“We’re delighted to have gotten hold of Will Goodrick-Clarke – who is training fantastically well – but we still looked for some more experience to back up those two senior players. So, as soon as we saw someone like Kwenzo becoming available, we had a call with him and watched him play plenty of rugby.
“As he’s with us now, he’s settled in well. He arrived with a slight neck strain, but we’ve progressed through that to have him in full training, doing live scrums with us now. He promises to be an exciting, strong and very important member of our squad going forward.”