Crowd favourite Thomas Waldrom is returning to play for the Wellington Lions in this year’s national rugby championship.
Big loose forward Waldrom will wrap up his successful stint in England by signing off with the champion Exeter Chiefs before returning to the New Zealand scene.
Waldrom believed it was the right time for his family to move back to New Zealand and to get his two young boys into the New Zealand way of living.
“I will hold Exeter as a special place in my heart I have had a great time here, all the coaches and players are great I can’t express how hard it was to leave but family had to come first,” he said. “I will enjoy my last few months with them before returning home.”
Waldrom still remembered when he put his first Lions jersey on in 2000.
“To be able to put it back on in 2018 will mean as much to me as it did to me then. It would be awesome to have my two boys watching me where I first started my professional career.
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“I have had a lot of great memories when I was with the Lions playing with so many of the great players that have worn the Wellington Lions jersey.
“Coming back to where it has all started for me is going to be special and a challenge, one that I’m looking forward to. I will be able to pass on a lot of the experience I have built up while I have been away to the young lads.”