Wednesday 9 December 2015 15:48, UK
Wales back-row Taulupe Faletau will join Bath next season from Newport Gwent Dragons.
The move comes six weeks after Warren Gatland blocked the 24-year-old's exit from the Dragons, citing his commitment to upholding the restrictions imposed by the Rugby Services Agreement in limiting the number of Wales players selected from outside the country in the future.
Faletau made his professional debut for Newport in 2009 and won his first Wales cap in 2011 to become the first Pacific Islander to play for the country having moved from Tonga at the age of seven.
He has gone on to make 52 appearances, winning three Six Nations titles and reaching a World Cup semi-final while also featuring in the British and Irish Lions series victory in Australia.
Faletau will link up with fellow Wales internationals Luke Charteris and Rhys Priestland at Bath.
"The way Bath approach the game suits my style of play, which was a big factor in me wanting to join," he told Bath's website.
"The opportunity to work with Darren [Edwards, first-team coach] again after doing so with Wales U20 and the Dragons was also too good to turn down. I'd like to thank Dragons for everything they've done for me in my career."
Bath head coach Mike Ford said: "When we talk about this club being ambitious, we're not just paying lip service: signing a player of Toby's calibre is evidence of that.
"He is a world-class player who never takes a backwards step and he will add competition to an equally fantastic back-row. We're continuing to build a formidable squad that will challenge for silverware for years to come."
Faletau is out of contract with the Dragons at the end of this season, and any hopes of the Dragons securing a six-figure transfer fee were dashed when Gatland blocked the switch in October.
Under terms of the Rugby Services Agreement between the WRU and Wales' four professional regions, the Dragons needed formal approval from Gatland to let Faletau join a non-Welsh team and that was turned down.
Had they been granted permission, then the Dragons would have landed a fee for him rather than having to let him leave for nothing in the summer.
A statement from the Dragons read: "This comes as extremely disappointing news for the club, given our understanding that a national dual contract was being negotiated with the Welsh Rugby Union."
