London Welsh seal signing of James Down

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London Welsh have signed second-row forward James Down from Cardiff Blues as their intense summer recruitment continues.

Down - who has yet to earn his first Welsh cap - becomes the 24th new player to sign for the club as they look to maintain their Aviva Premiership status after they were promoted from the Championship.

Potential

The 24-year old impressed whilst playing for Llantwidt Fadre as a youngster and attracted the attention of Exiles head coach Justin Burnell, before he went on to play for both Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC.

Burnell said: "I always thought James had a huge amount of potential.

"Coming through the Blues system he played alongside the likes of Bradley Davies and Lou Reed, who have both gone on to be full internationals. I still believe James has the potential to do that."

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Fantastic addition

The news comes after the likes of All Black World Cup winner Piri Weepu, Argentinian prop Pablo Henn and Lachlan McCaffrey all joined the club.

Burnell said: "He's played a lot of rugby in different competitions with Cardiff Blues and he's another fantastic addition to our squad.

"He's very much in the Matt Corker mould and like Matt he's got a great understanding of the line-out and the kick off, and he's very good in the contact area.

"I'm really pleased to have someone of James' calibre on board, pushing the players already within our squad and helping to add to the competitive edge."

Missed out

Despite the continued arrivals at the club, they have missed out on signing Welsh star Adam Jones.

The 33-year old was the subject of rumours that he would be coming to the Kassam Stadium, but to the disappointment of London Welsh his management company, Big Red Management, dispelled any transfer whispers on Twitter.

"No truth in @adamjones3 going to @LondonWelshRFC. Matters should become clearer in next few days," they wrote.

A number of clubs have been linked with the British and Irish Lion including Bristol, Toulon and Saracens.