British and Irish Lions

The South African will arrive on January 1 and should provide added strength in depth, given James Simpson-Daniel and Mike Tindall could be called up for RBS 6 Nations duty by England.

Coach Dean Ryan is delighted to welcome the 28-year-old to Kingsholm and told www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk: "The opportunity came along for us to sign Rudi and it was simply too good to turn down.

"He is an exciting player, comfortable at either 12 or 13, I am sure he will be a very good acquisition for us.

"He has Super 12 experience and that is always a quality worth pursuing.

"It is very important we don't expose ourselves and threaten the overall strength of the squad during periods when we could lose players."

Warren Gatland says he and his British & Irish Lions Test team are fully aware of the size of the threat posed by Qantas Wallabies wing Israel Folau this weekend.

Sam Warburton says he is 'absolutely delighted' after being chosen to lead The British & Irish Lions in Saturday's first Test match against the Qantas Wallabies.

Less than four kilometres away from the Suncorp Stadium, venue for the opening Test between the British & Irish Lions and Qantas Wallabies on Saturday, lies the grave of the man who took the starring role in the first international between the two teams in 1899.