Piutau to enjoy short Wasps stint ahead of Ulster move

Wasps have announced the signing of New Zealand international Charles Piutau, who has already agreed a move to Ulster from July 2016.

Irish province Ulster completed a deal to bring in the versatile back in April, but confirmed he would not link up with the club until next year.

And Wasps have now moved to bring in Piutau for the 2015-16 season, with the 23-year-old set to arrive once he has completed his ITM Cup commitments with Auckland Blues.

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: "The opportunity arose for us to sign Charles and we jumped at the chance. We're really pleased to have been able to bring on board someone of Charles' quality.

"His addition will bolster the strong recruitment we've already made for the new season, complementing the talented squad we already have in place.

"If we want to be successful, we need to have strength in depth, particularly this season when you switch between Premiership and European games week after week.

"You are going to pick up bumps and bruises, so it's really important to have players who can play in a couple of positions and strength in depth across the board. I believe Charles can add to that.

"If everyone is fit, it will provide real competition for selection and will give Wasps a real quality backline."

Piutau boasts 17 international caps and was considered unfortunate to have missed out on a place in Steve Hansen's final 31-man New Zealand squad for the Rugby World Cup.