With their respective Rugby World Cup campaigns at an end, new signings Kahn Fotuali'i, George Stowers and Chauncey O'Toole will arrive in Ospreylia later this month after a short two-week break to recover and prepare for life at the Liberty Stadium.
The trio all enjoyed good personal campaigns, Samoan’s Fotuali’i and Stowers proving influential members of the team, starting in all four of their nation’s fixtures and scoring two tries each as they missed out on qualification from Pool D behind Wales and South Africa. O’Toole also impressed for the Canucks as they secured a win over Tonga and a draw with Japan during the tournament.
All three have been given time to take a short break after playing and training right through the summer, and to finalise their personal affairs before making the move to south west Wales, and will arrive at the region in the third week of October after a fortnight’s leave period.
Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Hore, explained:
“We are looking forward to welcoming Kahn, George and Chauncey to the region, and they are equally excited about coming here to represent the Ospreys. Having trained and played through the summer and then working through the rigours of a Rugby World Cup, it’s important they have time to rest before they report for duty ready to go.
“Anyone who watched them during the Rugby World Cup would have seen that they will bring something different to the Ospreys and will be welcome additions to the squad when they arrive in a few weeks time.
“While we remain committed to developing local talent, we need to supplement it with carefully selected non-Welsh qualified players given the demands on the squad over a long season. The signing of these three players clearly show the kind of person we want at the Ospreys. We looked hard for players who would contribute to the team ethic, and to Ospreylia.
“We wanted players who are true professionals and can be role models to others, and Kahn, George and Chauncey possess the key characteristics we expect of an Osprey, on and off the field, and we feel that they can be positive influences in our environment.”