Lam signs for Hurricanes

Editor

Super Rugby champions the Hurricanes have announced the signing of New Zealand Sevens star Ben Lam for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

The 25-year-old Aucklander has already relocated to Wellington where will also be playing his provincial rugby for the Wellington Lions for the next two years, and said he couldn’t wait to start preseason with his new Super Rugby teammates.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the club,” he told the Hurricanes’ official website.

“The Hurricanes are the current Super Rugby champions and have been in the final for the past two seasons, so you can see they are building something special and I felt like the chance to be a part of that would be awesome.

“I see this move as a great opportunity to develop my game and also as a fresh start for my fifteens career.”

Hurricanes backs coach Jason Holland said he was looking forward to seeing Lam reach his full potential over the next two seasons.

“Ben is a big, strong and quick wing and he’s shown in sevens and fifteens that he’s a genuine finisher when it comes to finding the try line. We’re looking forward to seeing him return to full fitness and he’s going to add some real competition in our back three.”

Lam has been out of action this year after suffering a knee injury during training in February, but expects to be match fit for the start of the 2017 Super Rugby season.

The 1.94m, 100kg wing is best known to New Zealand rugby fans as a destructive try-scoring force in the New Zealand Sevens team where he has been a regular selection since making his debut in 2012.

Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee saw first-hand what Lam could do during his stint as World Rugby’s Sevens General Manager.

“Ben was internationally respected as one of the most dangerous players on the World Series circuit, particularly in 2013 and I’m sure our fans will enjoy seeing him in the Hurricanes colours next season,” he said.

And Lam is also no rookie when it comes to Super Rugby. The St Peter’s College old boy made his Blues debut in 2012 and after three seasons of focusing on his sevens career, and played a further five Super Rugby matches in 2015.

He was a member of the Blues 2016 squad before injury struck in the pr-season, also ruling him out of the New Zealand Sevens team’s Olympic Games squad.