Liam Messam to play for Waikato in Mitre 10 Cup
Liam Messam (RCT) during the rugby TOP 14 match between Rugby Club Toulon and CA Brive at the Felix Mayol Stadium, in Toulon, France on February 15, 2020. Photo by Julien Poupart/ABACAPRESS.COM
Waikato have announced that former All Blacks and Chiefs loose forward Liam Messam has joined them for their 2020 Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
The 36-year-old returns to the province five years after his move to Japan to play for the Toshiba Brave Lupus. Messam eventually moved to France to play for Top 14 giants Toulon in 2018.
Before his move overseas, Messam accumulated a total of 85 provincial caps over his 12 seasons for Waikato. He is training with Waikato’s squad ahead of their Mitre 10 Cup opener against Wellington in Hamilton on September 12.
Waikato head coach Andrew Strawbridge is excited to have Messam back in their ranks.
“Waikato Rugby is proud to announce the signing of Liam Messam for the upcoming Mitre 10 Cup season,” he said.
“Messam is a very talented and vastly experienced player, who can play a range of positions in the loose forwards. He is another one of these players that cares deeply about the jersey, his team-mates and is well respected by the province, so we are very fortunate to have him back in the colours.”
Messam first played for Waikato back in 2003 and amassed scored a total of 148 points in his 85 games before moving to Japan.