English Premiership side Harlequins have officially announced the signing of former Lions back Tyrone Green.
The 22-year-old Green left the Lions after opting to cancel his contract through a 21-day contractual exit window brought about as part of a pay-cut agreement with professional players in South Africa.
The South African speedster was a standout performer for the Junior Springboks during the 2018 U20 Championship. He progressed with the Lions to make his Currie Cup debut in 2018, since graduating to become one of the most dangerous attackers in Super Rugby over the past two seasons.
Green adds further wealth to Harlequins depth in the wider channels, with fellow young guns Nathan Earle, Caden Murley and Gabriel Ibitoye already in place alongside England’s most capped fullback in history, Mike Brown, and European top try-scorer Chris Ashton.
‘I think it’s very exciting, I’ve always wanted to make a move to England since I was young, and Harlequins is one club that’s appealed to me for quite a while now,’ Green said.
‘I spoke to Gussy and just what he said, the way you handle things at Harlequins, the interest he takes in the players, I think that was a big attracting factor for myself. And also, the rugby that Harlequins has been playing is very entertaining; that was a big deciding factor for me in the decision process.
‘I think with Marcus Smith at flyhalf – I’ve played against him at junior level at the U20s World Cup – he’s a great flyhalf, he gets the backline going,’ Green added.
‘But also, it’s a very good league to get the attacking game going, and I think it’s just the type of rugby Harlequins play, especially in the backline, it feels like they can have a go; they try to beat them, offload. I think the flow and the vision that Harlequins play with, it’s very entertaining, it fits quite well into the style that I like to play.’
