Chunya Munga & Tarek Haffar: Northampton Saints sign London Irish forwards
- Published
Chunya Munga featured for England at both under-18 and under-20 level
Northampton Saints have signed lock Chunya Munga and prop Tarek Haffar following the demise of London Irish.
Munga, 22, made 53 appearances for Irish, who were suspended from the competition last week before going into administration.
Haffar, 21, played 10 times for the Exiles last season after coming through the club's academy.
Former England Under-20 international Munga said it had been "a challenging few weeks".
"I am one of the lucky ones who has been able to find a new home straight away," he continued.
"I want to take this opportunity to say that I cannot thank the coaches, players, on and off-field staff, and all the supporters at London Irish enough for everything they have given me. I couldn't have got to this position without all of them."
Munga said he is "confident" about his move to Franklin's Gardens and that he will "put in all my energy into the team" after his immediate future in the game was thrown into disarray by Irish's financial collapse.
"I'm very grateful and excited to be able to focus on playing rugby again and being within a team environment," he told the club website., external
"Speaking to Northampton's coaching group also made me really excited to join Saints.
"Phil Dowson and James Craig have been fantastic to talk to, and I didn't feel like there had been the same passionate interest from any other team to see me improve as a player as there was from them."
Haffar, who had been with Irish since the age of 14 and has won three England Under-20 caps, added:, external "I want to be within a team that's really pushing forward and chasing silverware, as that is obviously something I want to achieve during my career.
"It is heart-breaking to see London Irish in the situation it's now in, but I hope some of those Exiles fans can keep their love of rugby and will continue to follow my career here at Saints, and I want to say thank you to all the coaches and supporters at London Irish for getting me to where I am."