Wellington Lions' young five-eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop has been picked up by Super Rugby team Melbourne Rebels, the club announced Friday morning.
Garden-Bachop played a large part of the Wellington Lions' campaign to the Mitre 10 Championship Final but failed to seal a spot in a New Zealand-based franchise.
The 22-year-old playmaker said that he was excited to be taking the next step in his rugby journey.
"I'm excited to sign my first Super Rugby contract, it's been a goal of mine for the last four of years since I left school to take the next step so I'm very happy that Melbourne has given me the opportunity," Garden-Bachop said.
"I'm definitely ready to give Super Rugby a crack, train full-time and learn from some really good players and top quality coaches so I'm focused on getting to Melbourne and putting in some good work with the Rebels."
Garden-Bachop, the son of former All Black Steven Bachop made 11 appearances and scored two tries for the Lions in 2016 on his way to being named the 2016 Lions Supports Club player of the season.
Newshub.