Nathan Hines signs two-year deal with Clermont

The 34-year-old lock, who has been playing blindside flanker in the current RBS Six Nations Championship, has been with Leinster for the past two years after periods with Perpignan and Edinburgh.

Hines said: "The Leinster coaches were keen to keep me, but there wasn't an offer from the club and I had a few from France which was very flattering.

"I had to weigh up a few things about what I want to do, and feel able to do, and what I want for my family, but Clermont were very enthusiastic and they have a great set-up. There was no doubt about me being released to play for Scotland so I won't actually join them until after the World Cup, providing I'm selected of course, and that was important to me. But they have also made a few other good signings so, although they've already got a very strong squad, they could be even stronger next season and it's great to be joining a club with its eyes on the top silverware."

Clermont missed out on a Heineken Cup quarter-final place this season but sit fourth in the Top 14 and are well placed for the play-offs again. The Heineken Cup is a clear target next year.

The Clermont team manager is Neil McIlroy, the former Jed-Forest, Border Reivers and Scotland U21 prop. He told The Scotsman: "We're chuffed to get big Hinesy. He is a good signing because we wanted to replace Thibault Privat (who is joining Montpellier] with a similar animal. We have a young lock coming through the academy, and some grunt on the left-hand side but we wanted a hard guy that knows his way around the rugby field and has some leadership skills."

Clermont have also signed Lee Byrne from the Ospreys, Scarlets centre Regan King and David Skrela from Toulouse but McIlroy ruled out moves for more Scottish internationalists.

"That's us pretty much completed our recruitment," he added. "Nathan will be away with Scotland at the World Cup, I'm sure, and we'll have a few guys away, which means we will use a few academy boys early on, but, when you're looking at the best players in Scotland, they're all playing for Scotland, so you'd hardly see them next season."

Ulster, meanwhile, have signed 27-year-old Auckland Blues prop John Afoa, who has 28 All Blacks caps.