"Extremely Physical and Aggressive" – Northampton Saints confirm singing of Samoan back row Iakopo Mapu

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Northampton Saints have announce that back-row forward Iakopo Mapu has joined the club until the end of the 2024/25 season.

The 27-year-old Samoan, who can be deployed at flanker or No.8, arrived at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens earlier this week ahead of Saints' upcoming clash with Coventry in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

A graduate of Massey High School in New Zealand, Mapu is a seven-cap international with Samoa – most recently representing his country in the Pacific Nations Cup in September, where the back rower scored in the Bronze Final as Samoa claimed the third-place prize.

Mapu arrives in Northampton following stints in New Zealand at Taradale, Hawke's Bay and Kia Toa, as well as at Super Rugby franchise Moana Pasifika, and Saints' Director of Rugby Phil Dowson is looking forward to having the athletic ball-carrier in the mix for Northampton.

"We're really excited to welcome Iakopo to Saints for the rest of this season," he said. "James Craig noticed him playing for Samoa in the summer, and with Sam Graham out of action with a long-term injury, we wanted to bring in another player to support in the back row.

"He's a very good ball carrier, an international player with Samoa, and has played a lot of provincial rugby in New Zealand as well as getting Super Rugby experience earlier this year with Moana Pasifika.

"Iakopo was extremely keen for this opportunity and wants to get better as a player, which are always qualities we look for when bringing someone in at Saints.

"He is extremely physical, aggressive, and athletic, with a lot of raw talent and potential, so we believe he can thrive in the Gallagher Premiership.

"He's also clearly an energetic and friendly man, who will fit in well with our group. By co-incidence, he lived with George and Ken Pisi's parents in New Zealand when he was at high school, so they are like a second family to him.

"He watched a lot of Saints matches when he was growing up as the Pisi brothers were involved at the time, so he knows a little of what this Club is about already and we're looking forward to seeing how he progresses in Black, Green and Gold."

Mapu added: "This is a life-changing move for me, and when I first got the call from Northampton, I was shaking. It's my first opportunity to play overseas, it means a lot to my family and I, and I'm going to give it my all, 100 percent, to play hard and make my time with Saints a success.

"I'm really happy and excited for this new stage of my journey. It was a long trip over from New Zealand, but my family loved seeing some snow in our first week in England, and everyone at Saints has been incredible in getting us set up and welcomed into the community here.

"It was amazing to meet the boys earlier this week – getting out on the training pitch with them really made it clear that I have found a place where I am going to be comfortable and improve as a player.

"I was born and raised in Samoa, but when I moved to New Zealand for high school, I stayed with the Pisi brothers and their family. We know each other really well, their parents gave me brilliant advice all through my junior rugby career, and Ken and George used to give me Northampton kit to wear when I was training – which I loved!

"Playing here in Northampton is going to be a different level for me in my career, and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and putting hard work on and off the field."

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