WORCESTER Warriors’ new recruit Melani Nanai will arrive for pre-season training on Monday and be available to play from the start of the new domestic season next month.

Nanai, 25, is one of eight signings made by director of rugby Alan Solomons for the 2019-20 campaign.

“This is fantastic news for us. It means that Melani will be here before our training camp in Spain at the end of this month and he can also play a meaningful part in our pre-season,” said Solomons.

“I have said before that Melani is an X-factor player and having him available for the first game is a terrific boost for us.

"I’m looking forward to Melani arriving next week and to working with him.”

Other new signings in hooker Matt Moulds, a former team-mate of Nanai at Blues, tighthead props Conor Carey (Connacht) and Richard Palframan (London Scottish), back row Caleb Montgomery (Ulster), lock Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers), Samoa wing Ed Fidow (Provence) and scrum-half Jono Kitto (Northland) have all been involved in pre-season training since Warriors reported back last month.

Nanai was not in defending champions Auckland’s squad for the upcoming Mitre10 Cup after ending a successful spell with Super Rugby side Blues.

Solomons had said he understood Nanai was on the standby list for New Zealand's World Cup squad but two weeks ago the player posted pictures on Instagram suggesting he was on his way to the United Kingdom.