McKibbin makes Irish move

London Irish have continued their recruitment drive with the signing of scrum-half Brendan McKibbin on a two-year deal from Super Rugby champions the Waratahs.

McKibbin has scored 234 points in 59 appearances for the Waratahs since joining them from the Queensland Reds in 2011 and was a second-half replacement for Australia scrum-half Nick Phipps in last year's Super Rugby final win over the Crusaders.

The Scotland-born 29-year-old is the latest signing to be announce by Irish, who have also confirmed the arrivals of British and Irish Lions full-back Sean Maitland and New Zealand World Cup winner Ben Franks in the last week, as well as the appointment of Tom Coventry as head coach for the 2015-16 season.

London Irish operations director Bob Casey said of McKibbin: "Brendan is a top-class player and a real leader on and off the field.

"We have plenty of quality in the scrum-half position and Brendan joining will only strengthen that competition. He has a great work rate, comes from a winning environment and knows what it takes to win trophies."

McKibbin said: "I am delighted to be joining the club. I spoke at length with (lock) Bob Casey and I am looking forward to be a part of the set up. The facilities are hugely impressive and I'm really excited by the direction the club is looking to go in."