The players keep coming for the Highlanders with Wellington outside back Shaun Treeby and Taranaki forward Jarrad Hoeata signing for the franchise yesterday.
New Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has now signed five players over the past five days, with the announcement of the duo coming on the back of Manawatu's Aaron Smith and Nick Crosswell and Canterbury first five-eighth Colin Slade.
Joseph said the signings were giving the franchise real momentum.
He said Hoeata was a hard and uncompromising forward who could play loose forward and lock.
He had impressed Joseph when he had played three games for the New Zealand Maori this season, including taking on a tough English pack.
Hoeata (26) had been about the traps over the past few years, being in Canterbury and then Taranaki, having originated from Bay of Plenty.
"He probably hasn't had a real good crack at it, at any franchise, and that is what I intend to give him," Joseph said.
Hoeata's ability to play both lock and loose forward was a bonus, Joseph said.
Treeby (21) had played for the champion New Zealand Colts side last year and been a regular starter for Wellington at centre this season.
Joseph, a former Wellington coach, said Treeby had a tremendous work ethic and had the ability to go to the next level.
With the Hurricanes boasting Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, the path to the next level was blocked for Treeby in Wellington so he had jumped at the chance to come south.
Joseph said the signings he had made so far were players he had identified as being a good fit for the Highlanders.
"We want guys who have got the values of the Highlanders, and reflect the good things of the South," he said.
The Highlanders will have a 32-man squad for next year's Super 15, with an additional eight players in a wider training squad.
