Du'Plessis Kirifi commits to Wellington

Loose forward Du'Plessis Kirifi has signed a two-year contract with the Wellington Lions.

The 20-year-old openside has joined the Lions for the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup and will play his rugby out of Wellington at all levels in 2018.

Originally from Taranaki where he was schooled at Francis Douglas Memorial College, Kirifi spent the past two seasons in Waikato before deciding to make the move to the capital.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity to pursue the next chapter of my career in Wellington," Kirifi said. "Chris is all about hard work, effort and attitude and when the opportunity came up to come down and have a crack at the Lions I couldn't wait to get stuck in."

Because he played his club rugby in Waikato this year, Kirifi will technically be classified as a 'loan' player for the Lions in 2017 even though he is contracted to his new union.

Wellington Lions head coach Chris Gibbes said he was thrilled that Kirifi had decided to pursue his career in Wellington.

"He's a young guy with a tonne of energy and a great attitude. What I like about Du'Plessis is that he brings effort to everything he does and he leads through his actions.

"Du'Plessis had the ambition and desire to want to chase his goals here in Wellington. He made every post a winner during the preseason and forced his way into the Mitre 10 Cup squad."

Kirifi has been an age grade representative in both Taranaki and Waikato. Last year he was a member of the Waikato Under-19 team that won the Jock Hobbs Memorial Trophy, while this year he has played for the Chiefs Development Squad.

Of Samoan descent, his father Jack Kirifi named his son after former Western Province loose forward Morne Du'Plessis, a No.8 who captained the 1976 Springboks to a series win over the All Blacks in South Africa.

As well as playing rugby, Du'Plessis Kirifi plans to continue studying toward a commerce degree at Victoria University. Wellington Rugby has yet to announce which club he will join in 2018.

PLAYER PROFILE

Name: Du'Plessis Kirifi

Age: 20

Weight: 96kg

Height: 1.81m

Province: Wellington

Career: Taranaki Under-19 (2015), Waikato Under-19 (2016), Chiefs Development Squad (2017), Wellington Lions (2017)