Warriors sign Quade Cooper's Reds replacement, Jono Lance

Warriors have announced that Australian fly-half Jono Lance will be returning to the Club ahead of the 2018/19 season on a two-year contract.

The stand-off recently signed a deal to play for his old side Queensland Reds but will make the switch back to Warriors following the conclusion of the current Super Rugby season.

A two-time Super Rugby winner, with the Reds in 2011 and New South Wales Waratahs in 2014, Lance is an experienced number ten who quickly became a fan favourite at Sixways during his short-term spell.

Lance made the move to Sixways in October, featuring eight times in the Blue and Gold, landing 26 points from the tee and establishing himself as a first-team regular.

But the number ten suffered a broken hand in the win over London Irish before Christmas and returned to his homeland.

The 27-year-old, who played for Western Force in last year’s Super Rugby, also starred for Perth Spirit in their 2016 title-winning National Rugby Championship campaign before being called up to the Wallabies touring squad.

After being named on the bench for Australia against France in November 2016, Australia Head Coach Michael Cheika tipped Lance to make his Test debut but an unfortunate injury sustained for a Wallaby XV against the French Barbarians saw him condemned to the sidelines.

Lance also counts New South Wales Country Eagles as a former Club, where he was named as National Rugby Championship Player of the Season in 2015.

Lance said: “Although I was only at Sixways for a couple of months, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Worcester.

“I’m fully focused on helping the Reds do well in this season’s Super Rugby but I’m also hugely excited about coming back to Sixways in the summer.

“I made a lot of friends back in England and want to test myself in the Premiership against some of the best players in the world.”

Warriors Director of Rugby Alan Solomons added: “Jono made a significant impact in a short space of time at Sixways. We are over the moon that a player of his quality has decided to join us ahead of next season and we’re looking forward to having him back at the Club.

“He is a talented individual with a wealth of Super Rugby experience and that will be of great benefit to some of our young upcoming players.”