London Welsh sign Paulica Ion and Kirill Kulemin
- Published
London Welsh have announced the signings of Romanian prop Paulica Ion and Russian second row Kirill Kulemin.
Tight-head prop Ion, 29, who has been capped 51 times by Romania, joins Welsh on a season loan from London Irish.
scoring one try. He made his international debut against Argentina at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Capped 18 times by Russia, Kulemin joins London Welsh from Castres after four seasons at the French Top 14 club.
The 31-year-old had previously spent four years at Agen, with whom he played Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup rugby, before joining Castres in 2008, where he gained further European experience.
His international rugby union debut came in 2006 against Portugal and he helped Russia qualify for last year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
"They are two fine signings who will help our squad to perform to its maximum," said London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones.
"They are boys with lots of experience at the highest level in the English and French leagues and can bring the best out of other players."