All Blacks ace Mehrtens to join Quins

Andrew Mehrtens will join Harlequins next season to signal the club's intention to become a major force in the Premiership.

The All Black fly-half, capped 70 times, has scored 967 Test points putting him third in the all-time list behind Neil Jenkins and Michael Lynagh.

With former England great Dean Richards arriving from Grenoble as director of rugby, Quins are ensuring they will have a much higher profile next season after struggling to avoid the relegation zone in this campaign.

Mehrtens and fellow All Black Carlos Spencer have been tracked by Quins, who opted for the Canterbury Crusaders No10 before it became clear Spencer would also be allowed to quit New Zealand rugby at the end of this season.

It is understood the Mehrtens deal is sealed after he was initially linked with Leeds, who have signed his fellow All Black and Canterbury scrum-half Justin Marshall.

Spencer is a mercurial player who was close to joining Leicester before regaining his place in the All Blacks side under former coach John Mitchell for the 2003 World Cup.