Harlequins Sign Will Joseph

Harlequins have announced the signing of London Irish and England centre Will Joseph.

The 20-year-old, part of England’s World Cup training squad, has joined the Club following London Irish’s suspension from the Gallagher Premiership.

The London Irish Academy graduate, who joined the Exiles at the age of 13 and was capped for England U18, made his Premiership and European debut in 2020/21, before earning selection in the England U20 squad for the 2022 Six Nations.

Joseph achieved selection in several England camps throughout 2022, before making his Test debut against Australia in Brisbane. Following another impressive campaign for London Irish this season, Joseph was named in Steve Borthwick's England World Cup training squad.

Speaking ahead of his Quins signing, Joseph said: “I’m excited to be joining Harlequins and appreciate how quickly they’ve made me feel so welcome. It’s obviously been a tough couple of months for everyone involved with London Irish, with an ending that none of us ever expected, and I just wanted to thank all the fans, coaches, and staff for their time and help in my career so far and hope to see some of them at The Stoop next season.

“Meeting Billy and the team at Quins and hearing about their plans and how I can hopefully fit into that was exciting, and I’m looking forward to the new challenge ahead. I’ve already worked with some of the coaches and have a lot of good friends at the Club, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in as soon as I can and meeting the rest of the squad and staff soon.”

Director of Rugby Billy Millard added: "Will is a highly talented athlete who has progressed significantly during his time with London Irish. He is a powerful centre who displays confidence in attack and defence and works extremely hard to improve certain areas of his game. We’re pleased we’re able to support Will with this opportunity and look forward to welcoming him to Quins.”