All Black Jeff Toomaga-Allen to leave Hurricanes, sign with Wasps

Another day, another All Black heads north. The trickle is fast becoming a flood.

One test All Blacks prop and Hurricanes centurion Jeff Toomaga-Allen is the latest to announce his departure after signing on with Wasps.

Toomaga-Allen, who played his sole test in Japan in 2013 and two matches against the Barbarians and French XV on the 2017 northern tour, will feature in one final season with the Hurricanes before joining Lima Sopoaga, Brad Shields and Malakai Fekitoa at Wasps this year.

The tighthead prop is the third player to announce he is leaving the Hurricanes – his exit coming hot on the heels of team-mate Matt Proctor, who will join Chris Boyd at Northampton, and Nehe Milner-Skudder who has inked a three-year deal with Toulon.

Such regular deflections must be concerning for New Zealand Rugby as their depth is continually eroded.

"I'm really excited to be joining Wasps later this year," the 28-year-old Toomaga-Allen, who has played 101 matches for the Hurricanes and debuted for Wellington in 2012, said. "It's a fantastic club with a lot of history.

"I want to help the club compete at the very top of the Premiership and European competitions, and hopefully I can be part of something special in winning trophies."

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: "To bring someone of Jeff's calibre to the club is fantastic news.

"Jeff is a solid scrummager while also being strong in defence, and like most New Zealanders, he is gifted with ball in hand so he's a terrific all-round player.

"We're looking forward to him joining us next season as he'll provide a real wealth of experience to the front-row."