Western Force sign Napolioni Nalaga

Controversial Fijian winger Napolioni Nalaga has joined Super Rugby outfit the Western Force.

Nalaga made the headlines earlier this year when he failed to return to duty with Top 14 outfit Clermont having been given leave for his wedding. It later emerged that the wedding had not occurred and his life had been thrown into disarray when he was 'held hostage' by his mother, who wanted him to commit to a prearranged marriage, leading him to fall into a "deep depression."

The French club were keen to continue their association with the player despite his absence and failure to communicate his position but when Nalaga was unable to commit to coming back to France for the present season, his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement.

However, having seemingly got his life back on track, the 25-year-old managed to secure a spot in Fiji's World Cup squad and now a Super Rugby contract.

"Nalaga obviously has the ability to score tries but also importantly he has shown that he can quickly gel into a new environment and different styles of rugby on the back of his efforts when he first arrived in France," Western Force coach Richard Graham told the team's official website.

"He is a player that can hit the ground running and coming off the back of a World Cup campaign with Fiji he'll be in top condition when he joins us for pre-season training.

"Given we lost David (Smith) and his try scoring I wanted a like for like replacement and I'm confident we've achieved that.

"He is a big man, quick, skilful and knows his way to the line.

"I spoke to numerous people about Nalaga, including the coach that first had him at Clermont (Joe Schmidt), and he couldn't have spoken more highly of him as a person or the work ethic he brought to his preparation and performance.

"We feel as though we're bringing in a very good person and a very good rugby player," he added.

Nalaga is understandably delighted to have secured his immediate future with a top level outfit.

"I'm pretty excited about coming to Super Rugby, it is a competition I have been following for a long time," he said.

"There are some very good players and the level of rugby is very high as well.

"I enjoyed my time in France and I'm thankful for the opportunities Clermont gave me but I'm looking forward to a new challenge as well. I haven't ever been to Perth but I know it is a good place and it will be good for my rugby.

"I have spoken to the coach (Richard Graham) about what he wants from me. It will be an exciting season and I'll be working hard and wanting to score tries for my new team mates and the supporters."

Nalaga scored 61 tires in 90 appearances during his four years with Clermont, topping the try-scoring charts in 2009 which earned him the title of Top 14 player of the Year.