Northampton Saints have confirmed the signing of Tarek Haffar from London Irish. The prop is one of three London Irish stars to find a new home at Franklin’s Gardens, after the Exiles entered financial administration last week.
Haffar joins his former London Irish teammates Chunya Munga and Tom Pearson in Northampton, ahead of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership season. Haffar made 10 appearences for the Exiles during the 2022/23 campaign, after making his debut against Harlequins.
The 21-year-old has also experienced scoring at the highest level of English club rugby, as the prop crossed over for a try against Sale Sharks last season. Haffar is 115kg and stands at 6ft tall, he has previously gained international recognition, starring in the front row on three occasions for England U20s.
Haffar said to the Northampton Saints club website:
“Playing against Saints a couple of times last season, it was clear that they are a really well-drilled team that is packed with talent.
“Seeing how well they did throughout the year just gone, it feels like it is a Club that is really building up to something big – so, when the opportunity arose to come up to Northampton, it was something that I wanted to be a part of.
“Speaking to some of my coaches at London Irish as well, like Jonathan Fisher and Ross McMillan who have experienced playing for Saints themselves and know the coaches well, they also told me how good the set-up in Northampton is and that I would fit in well.”
“Saints have a really devoted coaching group; it’s clear they work hard with the players, both on and off the pitch, to help the team connect and develop. I also 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.”
Northampton Saints Director of Rugby Phil Dowson confirmed that Haffar had been on the Saints radar for a good while. Dowson expressed his excitement of signing the promising young talent.
“Tarek is someone whose progress we have been following for a long time,”
“He clearly has both the physical and mental ability to push on and become a top-class loosehead prop. He has a lot of power and loves to get involved and carry the ball as well, having played a bit of back row earlier in his career.
“The work he’s been doing as a scrummager is really impressive, so while Tarek doesn’t have masses of experience yet, he has masses of potential and is desperate to kick on.”
“It’s fantastic for us to add some depth at loosehead too. Manny (Iyogun) is coming back from a long-term injury, and we obviously have Alex and Ethan Waller in that space as well, but we want Tarek to be challenging all those guys and making the competition for that jersey as fierce as possible.”