New Zealand centre Matt Proctor will join Northampton Saints in the summer, the club announced Friday.
The 26-year-old has agreed a deal to once again work with head coach Chris Boyd who led Proctor’s current side the Hurricanes to the Super Rugby title in 2016.
Proctor, who earned his first call up for the All Blacks against Japan in November, said he had wanted to make the switch from Southern to Northern Hemisphere rugby for a while.
“I am excited to have signed for such a prestigious club in Northampton Saints. For a long time now, I have had the ambition of testing myself in the Northern Hemisphere and for so many reasons Northampton is a great fit for me,” he said.
Proctor — a centre who can also play full-back and wing — will be the first signing of the 2018-19 campaign for Chris Boyd, who described him as ‘world-class’.
“Matt is exactly the calibre of player that we want to be bringing to Northampton – he’s a world-class talent,” Boyd told the Saints website.
“At 26, Matt is entering the peak years of his career and he had the desire for a new challenge on this side of the world. We feel that he can really fill his vast potential here in Northampton.”