Super Rugby
Hosea Gear joins Chiefs to push World Cup claims
ESPN Staff
August 11, 2014
Hosea Gear rampaged for the Barbarians against England before heading to Japan © Getty Images
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Hosea Gear will play Super Rugby with the Chiefs next season, joining fellow Rugby World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams at the franchise where the pair hope to push their claims for a berth in the All Blacks' 2015 World Cup squad.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie says Gear's signing is good news for the two-time Super Rugby champions. "Hosea ticks all the boxes. He's a good man, very professional and experienced. He's also a hell of a player, powerful, quick and a quality finisher."

The former All Blacks winger says he's looking forward to returning home and "playing in my home country again in front of New Zealand supporters, family and friends".

Gisborne-born Gear played 14 games for the All Blacks. He also played for the Maori All Blacks and the All Black Sevens, winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2010. He has played Super Rugby for the Highlanders and Hurricanes, and provincial rugby for Poverty Bay, North Harbour and Wellington.

He left the Highlanders after the 2013 Super Rugby season to play for French Top 14 club Toulouse, whom he joined as a "medical joker" to replace injured France winger Vincent Clerc. Gear decided not to take up the option for an extra year on his contract, preferring to play the shorter Japanese season before returning to New Zealand in February at the conclusion of his deal with Honda Heat.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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